The Forgotten Child
by PaperKat
Summary: Years after the orginal series. Who is this new girl that the YYH team kids have found?
1. one

Disclaimer: I'm insane. I have no idea where this  
story is going to go, but when I said that I  
didn't want to post it because the plot was not  
defined as of yet, and that my friends at school  
would shoot me for not writing the rest of my Ranma  
fic I was writing for them Katchan said, and I  
quote, "::sulk:: And what are we, chopped liver?".   
So, in fairness, and because I *don't* think you  
guys are chopped liver I will post it. I'm  
warning you now, I have no idea where this story  
is going, or what is coming next. That's a lie.   
I have a very vague idea where it will go, as the  
title suggests.  
  
The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 1  
by Kat Aubuchon  
  
Hiei watched as Yukina shooed her youngest  
child from the room. The little boy took offense  
at being left out of another adult conversation,  
and let them know it. Normally Hiei would have  
just ignored the occasional whining from his  
little nieces and nephews, but today for some  
reason they made him feel like he was being  
crowded. By some sibling miracle Yukina had  
noticed, and was making the children go outside to  
play. Even Kurama's presence at his side was  
suffocating. Kurama ran his hand along Hiei's  
arm, and the fire spirit reacted as if he had been  
burned. Kurama gave him a look of concern.  
  
"Just leave it alone fox," he warned. Kurama  
held his hands back in a non-threatening manner,  
but didn't leave it alone.  
  
"Hiei, what's the matter. You've been  
awfully touchy the last few days." The concern in  
his voice was obvious, and it just made Hiei grind  
his teeth more.  
  
"I said, leave it alone, damn it." he hissed  
through his clenched teeth. Kurama face fell, and  
the hurt was plain in his beautiful green eyes.   
Hiei cursed himself for upsetting Kurama, again.   
  
Hiei could never understand the relationship  
the two of them had. They had been close friends  
for years before they were lovers, and Hiei was at  
a lost as to the dynamics of both the friendship  
and romantic relationships. When they were just  
friends it was easy to say that his feelings for  
Kurama were for a fellow warrior. He felt  
companionship for Kurama, and nothing more. Then  
time and again the two of them had been pushed  
together by events beyond their control. Forced  
to rely solely on each other. Then just when he  
thought he understood their friendship  
relationship, it took a very personal turn.  
  
His personal relationship with Kurama, was  
even more confusing to him. To anyone outside  
their personal ring of friends, and Kurama's  
mother of course, the two of them seemed to be  
only close friends. Their interaction with other  
people and with each other changed very little  
when they got personal involved, but when the door  
was closed, that was a whole other world.  
  
It had been almost eighteen years since  
Kurama had shocked him to his toes by telling him  
that he was in love with him. Hiei hadn't known  
what to say, so he had said nothing. In fact he  
had stood rooted to the spot for a good ten  
minutes before Kurama pushed him over to get his  
attention.  
  
"Hiei, I just told you that I'm in love with  
you. Aren't you going to say anything, or do you  
not care?" Kurama had asked. Hiei had just sat  
there still stunned, and shook his head.  
  
"Is that 'no' your not going to say anything,  
or 'no' you don't care?" Hiei could hear the  
laughter in his voice, and it snapped him out of  
his woolgathering.  
  
"Your crazy."   
  
"I have been told that on occasion." Kurama  
agreed. Hiei flailed his arms in the air, trying  
to get the right words to come out.  
  
"But, your a guy... and I'm a guy... and your  
a youko... no a human... and I'm a  
koorime...and..." Hiei stopped when he realized  
that he was rambling.  
  
"Well, so far Hiei, you have established our  
gender and our species, but you still haven't said  
anything about what I said." Hiei had growled and  
then glared at the annoying youko. Out of  
confusion he disappeared into the night. Hiei  
didn't see Kurama for the next month, still too  
confused to reply to his confession. Hiei still  
didn't have an answer for the youko when he  
finally came to see him, but he couldn't stand  
being alone anymore.  
  
Kurama had graduated from his high school and  
was attending something called college, so Hiei  
had to sneak into the dorms and make sure he  
didn't wake up that idiot human, Kuwabara, that  
Kurama had shared a room with. Kurama had been  
up, looking all the world like he'd been waiting  
for him. He had greeted Hiei as he always did,  
with a smile and some kind of sarcastic remark,  
but Hiei could tell that Kurama was not feeling  
well. The friend that never had a hair out of  
place, had large bluish circles under his eyes and  
his clothes were less than perfect. Hiei remember  
wondering what was wrong with him.  
  
"So, what are you here for Hiei? Did another  
human fall into the Makai?" he had asked. Hiei  
had been surprised by the hard edge in Kurama's  
voice.  
  
"No."  
  
"Come to see your sister, then?" Hiei had  
hissed for him to be quiet, because the idiot was  
in the other room.  
  
"No."   
  
"Che, then why are you here?" Kurama had  
actually given a very good impersonation of his  
own patent glare.  
  
"I... I don't know," when Kurama didn't  
respond he knew in his heart, that he had made a  
mistake in coming. "I'm leaving."   
  
Kurama had moved faster than Hiei had ever  
seen him move before. Kurama had grabbed his left  
arm and brought it up behind his back, and made it  
uncomfortable for him to try and move away. Then  
Kurama had brought his right arm around Hiei's  
neck, and pulled him back to be flush with his  
body.  
  
"Oh, no you don't. I'm not letting you go  
until I have an answer. One way or the other."   
Hiei had not known what to say 'one way or the  
other', so the two of them were at a stand off.   
  
After a few moments Kurama heaved a  
disappointed sigh, and did the last thing Hiei  
wanted him to do, release him. Hiei had stood  
still, not knowing what to say or what to do. All  
he knew was that he didn't want to lose Kurama.   
When Kurama had tried to back away from him, the  
fire demon had quickly reached behind him and  
grabbed his hand. Hiei had hoped desperately that  
Kurama understood what he wanted, what he need,  
because he didn't.   
  
Hiei could feel Kurama rub his thumb over the  
back of his hand, and a warm feeling he had never  
experienced before came over him. Then Kurama had  
reached around him again, but this time it wasn't  
to restrain him. Hiei had felt Kurama's chin rest  
on the top of his head and his hands caressing his  
arms, and without even thinking Hiei had leaned  
back into Kurama's embrace. He had been stuck  
with the damn fox ever since.   
  
Now that he really knew this crazy,  
overactive, over emotional, oversexed youko, he  
was amazed that Kurama had waited a whole week  
before seducing him. Hiei still didn't know when  
Kurama found time to study for his exams in  
school, or how he didn't turn into a fish with all  
their trips to the shower. He had heard that  
youkos were insatiable, but Kurama was beyond  
belief.  
  
Right now Hiei didn't even want to think  
about sex, or anything that had to do with sex.   
All he wanted was to see Yukina, in fact he had  
this insane need to be alone with her, talk with  
her. He hadn't felt a need to speak to his sister  
this badly in a very long time. Not since he and  
Kurama had their first really big fight.  
  
Yukina had confessed at her wedding that she  
was his sister, not knowing that he knew she was  
his sister. It was the weirdest, and the second  
best night of his life. When they had finally sat  
down and talked, he found out that his sister was  
a lot more than she appeared to be.  
  
Yukina gave one last push and her child was  
out the door. She came and sat next to Hiei,  
taking his hand in hers. Hiei could feel the  
tension leave his body, and smiled one of his rare  
truthful smiles at his beloved sister.  
  
====================  
  
Kurama was jealous, he had been alive for  
almost five hundred years, and he knew jealousy  
when he felt it. He watched as Hiei bestowed one  
of his carefully guarded smiles for Yukina.   
Kurama could count on one hand the number of times  
he had been given that smile. Smirks, grins, and  
glares he got in truckloads, especially the  
glares. The type of smile Hiei was giving his  
sister was the kind that made you know that you  
were one of the most important people in his life.   
The kind that made you want to lock him in a room  
somewhere and keep him for yourself forever.  
  
Kurama had even talked to Yukina about those  
smiles, and the both of them had agreed that Hiei  
was definitely cute when he gave them. Kurama  
counted his lucky stars that he was one of the  
only two people Hiei had ever given that smile to.   
  
The first two years of their personal  
relationship had been a "busy" one. He was  
luckily that he passed all his classes those two  
years and he had the money for the water bill,  
with all the extra curricular activities he had  
taken on. Those first two years Kurama was sure  
that Hiei was going to wake up one day and say the  
he had made a mistake, and that he never wanted to  
see him again. He had wanted to make memories  
with Hiei as fast as he could, so that if Hiei did  
ever leave, he would have something to hold on to.   
Then suddenly Hiei had become more openly  
affectionate to him and the others in general, and  
had even told him that he loved him. That had  
gone a long way to quitting his fears.  
  
Hiei had been innocent to the point of almost  
being naive their first time, but Kurama was sure  
to remedy that quickly. Kurama smiled at the  
images that his memories had evoked in his head.   
He wished that they weren't at Yukina's house so  
that they could act on his present amorous mood.   
Then he remembered the last couple of days and  
frowned.   
  
Hiei had been more than just touchy lately,  
he had been rude, obnoxious, antsy, and pissed at  
everyone that even looked at him. The only other  
time he had seen Hiei in this bad of a mood, he  
had been in collage and the two of them had been  
in a huge fight. Hiei had stormed off, and didn't  
come back for two days. That was when Hiei had  
his strange change of attitude, and then told him  
that he loved him. Kurama hoped that this time  
would turn out as good as the last time did.  
  
Hiei continued to hold his sister's hand long  
after he would have normally let go. Kurama was  
starting to wonder if Hiei was going to curl up in  
his sister's lap and start purring, like he always  
does when they're alone. Yukina was lovingly  
stroking Hiei's hand and giving him a look of  
understanding and comfort. Another jolt of  
jealousy hit him. He was supposed to be the one  
to give Hiei comfort and understanding, not that  
the stubborn fire spirit ever came to him for  
comfort he emitted.  
  
Kurama was almost happy to see Kuwabara come  
into the room and ruin the psychic connection  
between brother and sister. Kuwabara came in as  
he always did from work, in a whirlwind of  
activity and kids behind him. All three of the  
little faces that Yukina had pushed outside to   
make Hiei more comfortable, and the oldest that  
was watching from a distance, were peering around  
him. Staring at their uncles with abnormal amount  
of interest.  
  
Yukina accepted a hug and a kiss from her  
husband, and then hurried around the room putting  
food on the table. Kurama spooned himself up some  
of the soup that was placed in front of him as he  
watched Hiei squirm and fidget. Then, suddenly  
Hiei stood up. He got up so fast that his chair  
fell backward and crashed on the floor, making him  
the center of attention. Kurama tried to take his  
hand, but Hiei jerked away.  
  
"I need to get some air." Was all he said  
before he blurred out the door. Kurama's anger at  
being so publicly rejected made him stay in his  
seat and calmly eat his soup.   
  
"You're just going to let him leave by  
himself?" Yukina asked him in gaping surprise.  
  
"He can take care of himself. He'll come  
back when he's ready." he said. Kurama tried to  
keep all emotion out of his voice so that they  
couldn't see how much he was hurting. Kuwabara  
sat in his usual place at the table and mirrored  
his wife's disbelief. Kurama looked around the  
room and realized that all of the Kuwabaras were  
looking at him like he had just grown another  
head.  
  
"What?" he asked as he took another calm sip  
of soup.  
  
"Well, if it was my significant other that  
was getting ready to have my child, I wouldn't  
just let him walk out the door by himself." Kurama  
took all the soup in his mouth into his lungs and  
then tried to cough it all out again. Kuwabara  
tried to help him by banging on his back.  
  
"Is Hiei-oijsan going to have the baby now,  
Kasan?" the littlest Kuwabara asked. Yukina  
smiled at her son and nodded her head.  
  
"Yes, he is, and your going to have a new  
little cousin." Those were the last words Kurama  
heard before he passed out in his soup.  
============  
end chapter 1  
  
Comments and replies are welcome.  
  
Kat 


	2. two

Corrections for Chapter 1 of The Forgotten Child.  
  
Yukina's youngest child is a little girl, not  
a little boy. Hiei was missing for a week, not two  
days, when he and Kurama got into their first  
fight seventeen years ago. (I told you guys the  
plot wasn't worked out all the way. ^_^)  
  
The Forgotten Child  
by Kat Aubuchon  
  
  
Kurama felt cold water splash into his face.   
He sat strait up, started spiting, and wiping the  
water from his face and eyes. He wearily rubbed  
the back of his neck, wondering what he had done  
this time to piss Hiei off. As soon as he thought  
of Hiei, he remembered what he had been told only  
a few minutes.   
  
An idiot grin  
spread across his face at the thought. The idiot grin  
turned into a full fledged idiot smile, then his  
eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. He thought some more on the subject  
and came up with the only reasonable answer. Kurama nodded his head  
in agreement with himself. His wild imagination  
took off after that. He felt a cold sweat  
break out across his skin, and his heart pound  
painfully in his chest. Kurama felt light headed, his hands  
turned to ice, and his eyes roll back in their  
sockets. He knew the ground was rapidly  
approaching, but was powerless to stop it.   
  
"Oh, shit! There he goes again!" Kurama  
heard Yuusuke's voice milliseconds before he was  
hit in the face with another round of water. The  
shock of the cold water was enough to keep him  
from passing out completely, but it still didn't  
wake him totally.  
  
Moment, by painful moment Kurama became aware  
of his surroundings. He was on the Kuwabara's  
living room floor, sitting in a very large puddle  
of water, completely soaked from head to toe.   
Kuwabara and Yuusuke were arguing about who was  
going to be the one to wake him up, while Keiko  
was trying to talk them out of throwing him in the  
pond in the back yard.   
  
Kurama suddenly became aware that there was a  
warm blanket around his shoulders, and the warmth  
of a cup of hot tea was seeping into his chilled  
hands. He looked up into Yukina's comforting  
face, without really seeing her. She swept the  
wet hair from his eyes and gave his shoulder a  
firm pat, before she turned her attention to the  
noisy discussion of Kurama's current state of  
mind.  
  
"If the three of you cannot be quiet, I am  
going to have to ask you to leave." The sweet,  
lovable, kind hearted, patient, quiet Yukina  
growled at them with a strained smile on her face,  
that showed the sharp little fangs she shared with  
her brother. The temperature in the room dropped  
sharply, and the three offenders were instantly  
stilled. Yukina turned her attention back to  
Kurama, and replaced her strained smile with a  
genuine one, that rivaled Hiei's in brilliance.   
Yukina took the untouched tea from Kurama's hand  
and held that hand in both of hers.  
  
"You didn't know that Hiei was going to have  
a baby, did you Kurama?" All he could manage was  
to shake his head in the negative. Yukina frowned  
at that, and got a strange look on her face. She  
turned to her husband, and the two of them  
exchanged worried looks. Without a spoken word  
between them, Yukina and Kuwabara communicated  
their wishes to each other. Kuwabara grabbed  
Yuusuke around the neck, and gave his friend no  
opportunity to argue.  
  
"Come on Urameshi, I think there's something  
out in the yard we need to do," he said to the  
choking man, as he dragged him out the door.   
Keiko was able interpret the sudden change of mood  
much better than her husband.  
  
"I think that I'll go check on the kids,"  
Kurama hardly noticed anything going on around  
him. He was still trying to tell himself that he  
was *not* going to pass out again, and that he was  
able to handle what was going on when, out of the  
corner of his eye, Kurama saw Keiko heave her very  
pregnant frame, after several failed attempts, out  
of the chair. For an instant he superimposed  
Hiei's face and body over that of Keiko's. The  
thought of a very round, agitated, and hormonal  
Hiei came to mind, and Kurama could see blackness  
coming into the edges of his vision again. He was  
saved from passing out again by the sharp slap he  
received from the gentle women beside him.  
  
"Don't even think of passing out again,  
Kurama. My goodness, to think at your age, with  
all you've seen and done that the thought of  
someone having your child would make you pass out  
several times in one night. Really, is it that  
hard to believe?" Kurama didn't know wither to be  
offended or shameful at Yukina's accusations. He  
was leaning toward being shameful for his actions  
when he remembered one very important fact, he  
didn't even know that it was *remotely* physically  
possible for Hiei to have a child by him.  
  
"Yukina, what is going on?" Kurama asked in a  
not too steady voice he could barely recognize as  
his own. He gave his head a physical shake, and  
tried to wake himself from his extreme shock.  
  
"You my friend are about to become a father,  
and my brother is the one that is going to have  
it." Kurama saw how serious Yukina looked, and  
knew that this wasn't some kind of sick joke.  
  
"How did this happen? How *could* this  
happen?"  
  
"It's rather simple actually," Yukina offered  
her hand to help Kurama off of the floor, and  
indicated she wanted him to sit on the couch  
beside her. "Do you remember when Kiseki was  
born?"  
  
Kurama was confused, of course he remembered  
when the first Kuwabara was born. The little pink  
eyed, lavender haired boy had sent all of them  
into a tornado of chaos, that was even worse than  
when Yuusuke's twins were born. As Yuusuke put it  
once, Yukina had gone "totally psycho" on them.   
She threw Kuwabara out of the house, she froze the  
one side of the mountain, because it was "too damn  
hot" in the Ningenki, she wouldn't see anybody but  
Hiei, and she generally was pissed at anyone that  
even looked at her. Understanding dawned, and  
Kurama knew where she was going with this line of  
questioning.  
  
Yukina had told them after Kiseki was born  
that Koorimei could reproduce in three different  
ways. The first was the time honored Koorimei  
way, where each Koorimei had a child of their own  
making, with no outside assistance. When a  
Koorimei decided that it was time to have a child  
all that was required was meditation and the will  
to have that child. The Kuwabara's youngest  
child, Koori, was born in this way. Both Kuwabara  
and Yukina had agreed that it was apart of  
Yukina's heritage to have a child this way, so  
Koori was born. As with all Koorimei, Koori was  
the image of her mother, and possess all the  
powers of a Ice demon.  
  
The second way was consummation with a male.   
This always produced twins, one being female and  
Koorimei with very few traits from the father, and  
the other was always male and of the father's  
species. The Kuwabara twins, Fuyu and Arashi,  
were born in this way. It was never really known  
for a fact, until they were born, if the few male  
children that were born in this way had any traits  
of their mother's, or did they all have the worse  
traits of their fathers. This was because they  
were always thrown from the floating island. Now  
it was confirmed by the Kuwabara twins and Hiei  
that they did retain some Koorimei traits. The  
least of which was the ability to conceive in the  
third way.  
  
The third way of conceiving a child was a  
very instinctual and not very well known way. It  
was apart of the original Koorimei biological make  
up, so that the entire Koorimei race would not  
become a society of clones. A Koorimei could have  
a child by themselves, with no outside help, if  
their desire to have a child is great enough and  
they are willing to spend hours of meditation, and  
focus solely on making that child. If that  
energy, focus, and will were directed on another  
living person the end result would be a child that  
was a perfect mesh of the Koorimei and the one of  
her focus. That was the reason the Koorimei lived  
in such a secluded location, if a child was ever  
conceived in this way it was next to impossible to  
tell, because the only other living souls around  
were other Koorimei. The oldest Kuwabara child,  
Kiseki, was conceived in this way.   
  
Kuwabara had been so convinced that if Yukina  
ever had a child by him she would not survive  
carrying it, that he was very careful in making  
sure she didn't get pregnant. As it turned out,  
Yukina was so determine to have a child that she  
unknowingly conceived in the third way. She told  
them the stress of having a child this way was  
enormous, not to mention the hormonal explosion  
that happens because your body is trying to  
incorporate another set of DNA in an unusual and  
potentially harmful way. That was the cause of  
Yukina's unusual behavior when she had Kiseki, and  
the cause of Hiei's behavior now that he was  
having their.  
  
Kurama started to become alarmed when he  
realized why Yukina was so worried. She also had  
told them that a Koorimei needs to have other  
Koorimei around anytime they get ready to have a  
child. If there was no Koorimei around, the  
instinct to hide the child and abandon it is so  
strong, that the mother would leave it without a  
backward glance. Yukina had been lucky that Hiei  
was so concerned about her odd behavior that he  
stayed at the Kuwabara home for the three days it  
took her to actually have the child.  
  
Kurama remembered the tales Hiei told of  
those few days he spent watching Yukina. It had  
taken both him and Yuusuke to keep Hiei from  
killing Kuwabara for what Yukina went through.   
Yukina hadn't been able to move or eat the entire  
time. Hiei said that she mostly slept, but when  
she woke up it was usually screaming. He said  
that he had wanted to go for help, but Yukina was  
animate that no one was allowed to see her, and  
that Hiei was the only one she would let anywhere  
near her.  
  
On the last day, the day her first son was  
born, Yukina had created a nest of sorts out of  
ice and snow. Hiei had told Kurama that he knew  
that this was the way a Koorimei prepared for a  
child, but he also had known that a Koorimei took  
around seven months to create a perfect nest for  
their children. Yukina had made hers in under  
five hours. In the next seven hours, Yukina had  
put forth enough youki to freeze the entire  
Nigenkai with a thought.   
  
Hiei had told him that when she was done,  
Yukina had passed out on to the floor and didn't  
move a single muscle. He had been ready to go for  
help against Yukina's wishes, when she woke up  
enough to ask him to bring her child to her. Hiei  
said he had no idea what she was talking about,  
and was ready to believe she'd gone completely  
nuts when he had heard the baby cry. Hiei had  
turned to find a little naked child, with lavender  
fluff on the top of his head and eyes that were of  
all things pink, laying in a puddle of what had  
once been the ice cocoon.  
  
Kurama tried to imagine what kind of damage  
Hiei could with his S-class strength and a hormone  
imbalance, and cringed. Hiei was out there  
somewhere having a baby, their baby, alone with no  
Koorimei around and Hiei had no clue what was  
happening to him. He had to find Hiei and  
quickly.  
  
"I see you understand what I'm trying to  
say." Kurama jumped at the sound of Yukina's  
voice. He had completely forgotten that she was  
sitting beside him.  
  
"We have to start looking for him. Where do  
you think he will go?" Yukina pondered the  
question for a moment.  
  
"He would go someplace isolated, someplace  
where he would feel safe in knowing that he  
couldn't be found." Kurama didn't like the sound  
of that.  
  
"Do you think he would try and go to the  
Makai?" Kurama asked with unconcealed fear in his  
voice.  
  
"I don't think he will. For all intents and  
purposes the Ningenkai is safer than the Makai, I  
think he'll stay here." Yukina reassured him.   
"The problem is going to be that he will be hiding  
from everybody and everything. We're not going to  
be able to find him by normal means."  
  
"So what are we going to do?" Kurama could  
feel panic edging in, knowing that Hiei could very  
well die having this baby, and if he didn't die he  
would leave the baby in the hiding place. If Hiei  
uses as much youki as Yukina did he could sleep  
for days and the baby would be totally unprotected  
and not cared for in that time.  
  
"I think that Kiseki will be able to help us  
find him." Kurama's hopes soared. Kiseki had  
inherited strong psychic tendencies from his  
father and was already quite good with them.   
Since his psychic abilities used reiki instead of  
youki there was a good possibility that Hiei  
couldn't hide himself from the boy. "I'll go get  
him, Kurama."  
  
Kurama mumbled his thanks, and walked over to  
the window. He pulled the curtain aside to look  
at the forest outside. If Kiseki couldn't find  
Hiei Kurama knew that, with the help of the plants  
of the woods, he would be able to find out which  
way Hiei had gone. The only problem with that was  
that Ningenkai plants don't speak as clear a  
language as Makai plants do, and it would take him  
quite a while to be able to locate Hiei.   
  
With a curse Kurama yanked the curtain closed  
again, and flung himself in the nearest chair. In  
the span of three hours, he had found out that he  
was going to be a father, the other father to that  
child had run off to have the child alone, the  
child was more than likely going to be abandoned  
by Hiei, and that there was a possibility that he  
could lose both of them. Kurama dearly wished  
that Kiseki could find Hiei, because he would  
never be able to forgive himself if something  
happened to the ill-tempered demon, and their  
child.  
  
=============  
  
In the woods on the mountain that the  
Kuwabara's lived Hiei ran like a man possessed.   
There was no real route he took, he just ran  
aimlessly, looking. He was unaware that his  
frantic searching had caught the interest of a  
resident of those woods.  
  
He did not feel the pair of eyes that watched  
him from a distance. He did not notice the figure  
that easily kept pace with him, following his  
every movement. He did not know that this watcher  
had followed him into the cave he had chosen in  
hide in, and he did not hear the soft furred paws  
on the cave floor as it went inside with him.  
  
In Hiei's current condition, he could not  
feel the youko approach him, as he laid down in  
great pain. When he closed his eyes and fell into  
a deep sleep, he had no idea that the youko was  
standing over him, waiting to see what this new  
visitor was going to do.  
  
=============  
end chapter 2  
  
Comments and replies are welcome.  
  
This chapter is done Katchan! Now will you help  
me with a ending?  
Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepl  
easepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplea  
sepleasepleasepleaseplease.  
  
No pressure here!  
  
Kat 


	3. three

The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 3  
by Kat Aubuchon  
  
  
Hiei knew he was dying. There could be no  
sensation more painful than what he was going  
through right now. Another wave of agony wrapped  
around him, threatening to pull him completely  
under into unconsciousness. He fought against the  
pain, thrusting his fists into the tree he was  
using as support. He couldn't afford to pass out  
here, he had to find someplace to hide. He  
couldn't let himself be found.  
  
As the tide of pain rolled back, his blurred  
vision returned. He knew he was somewhere in the  
mountains that surrounded Yukina's home, but he  
wasn't sure exactly where he was at.  
  
he sobbed in his mind,  
not letting himself have the luxury of actually  
crying. He continued on his way, not knowing  
where he was going, but knowing that he had to get  
there.  
  
For the briefest of moments he thought about  
letting Kurama help him. He wanted that damn fox  
so badly now, he physically ached with the need to  
see him. He knew he couldn't see Kurama, he was  
youko, and that was danger. Only Yukina could  
help him, only she could keep him from the madness  
and pain.   
  
Hiei suddenly stopped, and looked at his  
surroundings. In some strange way this area  
looked familiar. There was a cave not too far  
away, that had an entrance that was completely  
invisible to anyone walking by. He knew that he  
had been there before, knew that he would be safe,  
but he hesitated. He didn't want to be alone,  
something bad was going to happen if he was alone.   
  
Hiei turned to head back to where he knew  
there was someone to help him, but he was hit by a  
stab of pain so great he fell to his knees and  
then to his elbows. He squeezed his eyes tightly  
shut so that none of the tears that threatened to  
fall would be set lose. He had to get to safety,  
he had to keep moving.  
  
He came to his feet and stumbled to where he  
knew the cave entrance was. He had some trouble  
actually finding the opening. The vines and  
grasses had grown heavy in the last seventeen  
years, Hiei realized. Once inside he found that  
the cave entrance hadn't been touched in seventeen  
years, but the cave had been used much more  
recently than that.  
  
There were no cobwebs, all debris had been  
swept from the floor, and there was a nest of soft  
grasses in the corner. Obviously a fox or a  
badger had taken up residence in the cave, but  
Hiei wasn't worried about that now.   
  
With a grunt of pain he lowered himself down  
to the grass. Another wave of nauseating pain hit  
him and he cried out. The blood in his veins  
began to burn, making him hotter than anything he  
had felt before. No, he had felt this before.   
Many years ago, in a time he had forgotten. In  
feelings he left behind. The last time this  
happened, he remembered the pain being all  
consuming, thick, trying to suffocate him. He had  
survived that time, and he would survive this time  
also. Hiei wrapped his arms around himself,  
hoping against hope that this time it would be  
different. This time he wouldn't leave a piece of  
his soul behind to die.  
  
#########  
  
Hiei didn't know how much time had passed, he  
didn't care. He tried to struggle out of his  
shirt, but lacked the coordination to complete the  
task. He whimpered in frustration. he wanted to scream, but his throat was dry  
and he couldn't get his swollen tongue to move.   
He thrashed in agony, wishing it would end,  
knowing it wouldn't.  
  
He had never been hot before. He was a fire  
demon, nothing was ever hot to him, but now he was  
roasting alive. Suddenly there was a cool hand on  
his cheek, and he sighed at the comforting  
coolness. He became aware that there was someone  
in the cave with him and he opened his eyes to see  
who it was.  
  
His eyes refused to focus on anything in the  
room. He could see a blur of a person beside him,  
silhouetted in a strange purple and green light.   
Both hands where on him now lifting him to sit up.   
His body screamed in protest at being moved. The  
person beside him pulled him into their lap and  
made him rest his head on their chest.   
  
Hiei now knew that the person in the room  
with him was female, but that was secondary to the  
pleasant coolness of her skin. His felt something  
cold and wet touch his lips and he welcomed the  
ice the female gave him. He had no idea how she  
could possibly keep ice in a room this hot. His  
eyes flew open and he tried to focus on chest he  
was now laying against.  
  
All he could see was the white of her shirt  
and a long lock of ice blue hair. For a moment he  
thought that Yukina had found him, but this female  
was much too tall to be his sister. There was  
another flare of fire in his blood, plunging him  
in a oven that threatened to cook him alive.  
  
He heard her give a grunt of pain, then hold  
him closer. The coolness he felt before came back  
stronger. He wished he could thank her, but still  
could not find his voice. He now knew that things  
were going to be different this time. The  
overwhelming sense of lost he had the last time he  
was like this would never happen. This time would  
be different.  
Hiei let her cool hands stroking his face, arms,  
and chest lull him into sleep.  
  
============  
  
The kitsune twisted her head from one side to  
the other, trying to figure out why there was  
someone in her cave. He was laying in the bed she  
had made for herself not moving. She had followed  
this stranger though the woods, wondering what he  
was doing. She was surprised that he found her  
cave, and the larger main entrance she never used.  
  
She jumped back in alarm when a small area of  
the cave burst into flames. Her kitsune instincts  
told her to run from the death bringing fire, but  
she didn't. She stopped to look into the flames  
that changed from purple to green. She found it  
incredibly beautiful, and inched closer to the  
hypnotic flames. There was intense heat coming  
from it, but she just pulled the coldness from the  
air and wrapped it close to her fur to protect it  
from being burnt.  
  
She had the urge to touch the flames, to see  
if they felt as beautiful as they looked. With a  
trembling paw she reached out to the flames. The  
emerald and purple tongues of fire licked around  
her paw. Her own ice fighting against the heat,  
but the strain was worth it. The flames did feel  
as wonderful as they looked, and she could sense  
something wonderful happening inside.  
  
She turned to the one that made the gorgeous  
fire, and made a soundless cry of distress. He  
was holding himself and rocking in pain. She  
could see that he was also crying out in pain, but  
her ears had not heard a sound since she was very  
little. These were the times she most regretted  
not being able to hear, if she had of been able to  
hear him she may have realized sooner that he was  
in pain.   
  
She walked over to him and tried to see what  
was wrong. Even though he was the one to make the  
fire, and the one that was still feeding it, he  
was suffering in the intense heat. She realized  
that he couldn't make cold, and ice like she  
could, and that he was burning up. Without a  
second thought she let her body change.  
  
The soul splitting pain that came with this  
particular change was enough to make black spots  
appear in front of her eyes. She remained on her  
hand and knees, and let the dizzying pain recede.   
Her other forms did not come with the pain this  
one did, but she couldn't make cold in the other  
bodies. The fox body could make cold but she  
needed something stronger to help this strange man  
that came to her cave, and made such beautiful  
fire. She had never made pretty fire like that,  
even in the other body where that power was the  
strongest.  
  
She went to him and placed her chilled hand  
on his cheek. He turn towards it and made a noise  
she could feel in her hand. The heat he generated  
was burning into her hand, making her use more of  
her power to kept it from being painful. The  
trade off was the pain around her neck from the  
collar she could never take off. The collar had  
been there longer than she could remember. Once  
she used to have collars that hurt on her wrists  
and her ankles, but good friends helped her take  
them off. They tried to take the one from around  
her neck, but it was too strong, and only cause  
them pain when they tried.  
  
This strange man that she had decided to help  
opened his eyes and looked at her. She tried to  
make the gestures she used with her friends to  
talk to him. With her hands and arms, she tried  
to tell him that she was going to take care of  
him, and the she was a friend. She even told him  
her name her other friends had given her, but he  
either didn't understand or could not see her.  
  
She knew that the best way for her to cool  
him would be to have full contact with him, so she  
lifted him enough to be able to slip in behind  
him. She felt his body shiver in pain at being  
moved, and said a silent apology to him for  
causing it. She let her body generate the cold  
they both needed in the heat of the fire. In the  
palm of her left hand she pulled even more of the  
cold she could control into a several pieces of  
ice. The collar around her neck constricted  
painfully, but she ignored it, knowing that he  
needed the ice for his parched throat.  
  
Luckily he wasn't to far into pain that she  
had to force the ice into him. He made a purring  
vibration in his chest that made her smile. She  
wondered if his voice would rumble like the  
thunder in the sky, or the quaking of the earth.   
Or would the sound he made with his mouth, that  
would never reach her ears, would be soft like a  
heartbeat under her hand.  
  
The man in her lap suddenly flared with  
intense heat and the air left her lungs at the  
pain it caused. She pulled her arms tighter  
around him and let her own power flare against  
his. The collar burned with a weak white light,  
as it choked off her air, and tried to keep her  
from using her power. She fought with all the  
strength she had to keep the agony of the collar  
from making her pass out. She knew that  
eventually she would, she could not generate power  
forever, but there seemed to be no limit on the  
amount of power the collar could take.  
  
She felt him drift off into a calm, if not  
painless sleep, as she stoked his burning skin.   
She thanked the earth that he had finally dosed  
off, and let her power dissipate. With shaking  
hands she pulled the ice blue hair, that was the  
same color as her fox fur, from her face. She was  
careful to pull the long hair over the two gaping  
holes on the top of her head, where furry kitsune  
ears should have been, but had been removed by a  
human she could no longer remember. Her tail had  
also been removed when she was little, and she  
could bearly remember a time when she hadn't  
looked as she did.  
  
In one body she was a fox with ice blue fur  
that was easily mistaken for silver by hunters.  
She had limited control of the powers of fire and  
ice that were stronger in her other two forms. In  
this body she was a damaged youko, earless and  
tailless. She had the power to call ice to her  
hand, at the price of the pain the collar gave  
her. Her other form allowed her to bring fire as  
easily as the youko form did. Her hair in that  
form was a stark contrast to the ice blue, being a  
red so dark that in low light it was inky black,  
but in bright sunlight in looked like burning  
embers in black coals. In all three forms her  
eyes remained the same color, reddish brown.  
  
She let her body change to the fire form, so  
that she could get away from the control of the  
collar. The collar and restraints that had been  
placed on her when she was young only came into  
use when she was in her ice youko form, because  
that had been the form she was in when they had  
been placed on her.   
  
She looked over to the calming fire and saw  
that there was now a intense bright white core in  
the green and purple flames. She felt her eyes  
drupe and knew that she should get some sleep so  
that she would have the strength to him the man in  
her arms, when he woke up.   
  
With her hands she said the words her mouth  
had never learned to form. /Kitsuryuu will watch  
you friend of fire/ She kissed the top of his head  
and let herself sleep.  
  
===============  
  
Well, here is another chapter! Is Hiei suffering  
enough yet Shuuichi?  
  
Comments and replies are welcomed and looked for.  
  
Kat 


	4. four

Credits: I came up with the story idea, but Windlily  
made it readable for the rest of you. The sweet, humble  
Goddess that she is, she muddered through my scattered  
brained text and fished a readable chapter out of it.  
I will now take this oppertunity to thank her whole  
heartedly for her help.  
  
Thanks, Windlily.  
  
{I chose purple neon lights, Windlily. Hope you like! ^_^)  
  
  
  
The Forgotten Child   
Chapter 4  
by Kat Aubuchon  
  
  
Kiseki bounced his baby sister, Koori, on his  
knee while she made tiny snow flakes to float on  
the gentle night breeze. The delicate ice  
crystals drifted until they were out of the small  
sphere of freezing air the two of them created for  
this game, then melted into the warm night air.   
Kiseki had just enough youki to make the  
temperature around him cold enough to support  
snow. His youngest sister was the true ice demon  
of the family, being completely Koorimei, but it  
was his oldest sister Fuyu who excelled in the  
manipulation of ice.   
  
Kiseki looked down at the precious child in  
his lap, and smiled in to Koori's upturned face.   
Koori rarely cried or complained. She smiled at  
everyone and loved them all in equal measure.   
Kiseki marveled at how easy it was for Koori to  
bring down everyone's defenses, including their  
ever quiet uncle. Uncle Hiei came to visit often  
but only spoke with their mother. Uncle Kurama  
was another story. He always played with them;  
chasing them around the yard, playing a youko  
version of hide and go seek that he always won,  
teaching them about Makai plants and how they  
could help and harm. When Koori was born, uncle  
Hiei was the first to see her. For several months  
after she was born their mother tried to make him  
hold the little girl, but every time he flatly  
refused.   
  
Then on one of Uncle Hiei and Uncle Kurama's  
visits Koori managed to climb into a tree while  
the children were playing in the backyard. She  
realized that she didn't know how to get back down  
and started to cry. The adults heard her and  
panicked, since she never cried and thought she  
was in big trouble.  
  
Uncle Hiei was the first one to the tree and  
when he saw that her only problem was that she was  
stuck, he gave a snort and told her to get down  
the same way she got up and to stop crying. Her  
tears had cleared up instantly at her uncle's  
gruff command, and she slowly came out of the  
tree. As soon as her feet hit the ground she  
flung her arms around Uncle Hiei's leg. When he  
bent down to try and remove her she moved her  
death grip from his leg to his neck.  
  
Poor Uncle Hiei had been so stunned he had no  
idea what to do. Uncle Kurama had rolled on the  
ground laughing his head off and Uncle Hiei had  
muttered some choice phrase that Kiseki, even at  
that age, had known was not very nice. After  
several failed attempts to extract the child from  
his neck he finally gave up and held her on his  
right hip. Ever since that day, Koori's place was  
in her uncle's lap when he came to visit.  
  
It didn't bother Kiseki that his uncle only  
showed his affection to Koori. He had seen inside  
his uncle's heart, and knew the truth he hid  
there. Kiseki's powers always seemed to confuse  
the adults, his father and his aunt had some  
rudimentary psychic powers but nothing that could  
match his own. If he wished, Kiseki could look  
into the mind of everyone within his sight. But  
so far he had not been able to do it without being  
noticed.  
  
Koori twisted in his lap, having become bored  
with her game and wrapped her tiny arms around his  
neck. She gave him one of her icy kisses that  
sent chills down everybody's spine, except for  
their mother's of course. She giggled when he  
shivered, and then crawled out of his lap. She  
tugged at his hand and he knew that she wanted him  
to follow her. Koori was four now and everyone  
knew that she could talk, she just choose not to  
most of the time. Kiseki and the other kids had  
an idea of why she tended not to talk, but they  
kept quiet about it, because they didn't want to  
cause problems.  
  
His oldest sister look up, brushing her bangs  
of her short hair off of her face as Koori led him  
to where the other kids were 'rough-housing', as  
Aunt Keiko would say. Fuyu looked Koorimei,  
sharing his mother's icy blue hair and warm red  
eyes, but she was much taller. At eleven she was  
already a full head above her mother and showed  
the promise of reaching their father's height.  
  
Fuyu pulled Koori into her lap and ruffled  
the top of her hair. Fuyu was one half of the  
Kuwabara twins, the other half was Arashi. At  
this moment her twin was engaged in his favorite  
past time, which was making Urameshi Mechiko live  
up to her father's reputation. It never failed  
that when the two of them came within sight of  
each other, sparks and fur flew.  
  
Arashi was a miniature copy of their father,  
with curled orange red hair and beady blue eyes.   
He had their father's high reiki and rough  
attitude and the only thing that kept Arashi from  
being a total asshole was his twin sister. Arashi  
and Fuyu had a peculiar relationship. Fuyu was  
nowhere near being as sweet and sappy as their  
mother and baby sister. Unlike their mother's  
passive nature, she choose to strengthen her  
powers and learn to fight. Most people believe  
she wanted to learn to protect herself from her  
twin's hyperactive nature, but Kiseki thought that  
she learned so that she would be better able to  
protect Arashi when he got in to trouble. Right  
now Arashi was in a lot of trouble.   
  
Arashi was barely able to block the rapid  
fire of punches Mechiko was throwing at him. It  
had been agreed by all of their parents that they  
were not allowed to use their powers against each  
other for any reason. Supposedly the only time  
they had an opportunity to use their powers was  
when they were training with their parents, and  
their uncles. None of the kids told their parents  
about the 'field trips' they took into the deeper  
parts of the woods to practice. Kiseki was  
powerful enough to mask their extracurricular  
training so none of the adults could find out.   
Right now Arashi was trying to make do with just  
his fists to fight Mechiko.  
  
Mechiko kept coming at Arashi until she had  
him backed against a tree. A cruel little smile  
curled her lip just before she sent her fist  
straight at Arashi's face. He was able to duck to  
one side so, instead of flattening his nose, her  
fist splintered the wood just to the right of his  
ear. Arashi returned the smile and sent his own  
tightly clenched fist into her stomach, just below  
her sternum. Mechiko jumped back and tried to  
bring the air back into her lungs as she kept a  
wary eye on Arashi.  
  
Kiseki was always surprised that Mechiko  
could look so beautiful when she was having a fist  
fight with his little brother. It was clear by  
the way her soft brown shoulder length hair was  
sticking to her sweat dampened neck and face that  
the two the them had been fighting for quite  
awhile. Her youkai heritage showed in the bright  
sheen of her silver eyes even though she was not  
using her powers. Kiseki knew from experience  
that at anytime Mechiko could make razor sharp  
blades of either youki or reiki, and throw them  
with deadly accuracy.   
  
Kiseki sighed, Mechiko was wonderful. The  
only problem was that she was 14 and he was 13,  
and she didn't even know he was alive.   
  
Kiseki went and sat on the short stone wall  
with his sisters. Fuyu had braided Koori's hair  
and was placing little wild night flowers all  
along the twists of hair. Kiseki took the little  
yellow flower that his baby sister handed to him  
and before anybody could react, Koori was between  
the fighting pair trying to offer Mechiko one of  
her flowers.   
  
Mechiko was in the middle of delivering a  
kick to Arashi's groin when Koori appeared in  
front of her with a flower in her outstretched  
hand. In wordless agreement Mechiko changed the  
direction of her kick, because it was too late to  
stop it all together, and Arashi picked his sister  
up out of the path of Mechiko's foot. The kick  
ended up impacting with his chin, sending him  
backward. The jarring force of the kick made him  
lose his hold on the little girl, and Mechiko had  
to dive under her to break her fall. Koori ended  
up on the back of Mechiko's neck, pressing the  
older girl's face into the grass, while her  
brother laid semi-conscious on the ground.  
  
Fuyu started to giggle beside him and he  
couldn't help but laugh with her. Mechiko and  
Arashi glared daggers at each other, unwilling to  
say what was on their minds because of the  
innocent ears between them. Maryoku jumped from   
the tree above them to land lightly beside the   
silently cursing pair.  
  
Maryoku was the most serious of the group,  
and Mechiko's twin brother. He mostly sat quietly  
watching others and making silent plans. He  
resembled his father in very way except in  
temperament, Mechiko inherited all of that. He  
had spiky black hair that refused to stay down and  
brown eyes that didn't miss a single movement  
around him. Maryoku normally never got in the  
middle of any of his sister's fights, so Kiseki  
knew something must be up.  
  
Despite Maryoku's ancestral heritage, he had  
never shown any inclination for fighting. It was  
easy to sense that Maryoku had great amounts of  
youki flowing through him, but he only used it to  
keep watch for the other people around him.  
  
"Heads up parents." was all he said before he  
sat on the wall beside Fuyu.   
  
Mechiko sat up making Koori tumble down her  
back. She quickly straightened her shirt and  
tucked it back into her jeans, then ran her  
fingers through her hair and pulled Koori into her  
lap. The little girl giggled at this game that  
they so often played and looked around for the  
parent that always came out when they played it.  
  
Kiseki had to roll his eyes at Mechiko's  
pitiful attempt to hide the fact that she had been  
fighting with Arashi. It didn't take a genius to  
see the grass stains on her clothes or the blades  
of grass still sticking out of her hair and know  
that she had been fighting. Besides, if Mechiko  
and Arashi could see each other they would be  
fighting, everybody knew that. It wasn't long  
before the parents that Maryoku had warned them  
about came into the clearing.  
  
Yukina, followed by a waddling Keiko, stepped  
out into the full moon light. Kiseki smiled when  
he saw his mother and she grinned back. She was  
wearing a traditional kimono like she always did,  
even though his father and their friends tried to  
convinced her to buy more casual clothes. Keiko  
was wearing what her husband called a 'tent' which  
was one of her many maternity dresses that  
attempted to down play her size. Kiseki's adopted  
aunt had her hands some where in the vicinity of  
her hips and was glaring at her daughter. Mechiko  
pulled the squirming Koori in front of her face  
like a shield as she tried not notice that she had  
been caught and was now in trouble.  
  
Kiseki watched his mother come towards him  
and Fuyu moved to make room for her to sit between  
them. He wasn't sure what she wanted but he could  
tell by the serious look on her face that it was  
important. She picked up his hand and placed it  
in her lap. He instantly knew that she was going  
to ask him to do something, and it wasn't going to  
be something simple like to take out the trash.  
  
"Kiseki, I need you to do me a favor," she  
patted his hand and then ran her fingers though  
his short lavender hair.   
  
He knew that his mother must be asking him to  
do something of great importance to pull out all  
the 'mother-is-asking-you-to-do-something' tricks.  
  
"I want you to look for your Uncle Hiei for  
us. We know he's out there but he isn't going to  
be easy to find, and it's very important that we  
find him as soon as possible." Kiseki could hear  
a slight tremor in his mother's voice.   
  
He patted her hand in the same way she had  
just patted his and smiled at her worried face.  
  
"That's no problem, Mother. Just give me a  
few minutes to look around for a trail, and I'll  
find him. Don't worry."   
  
She gave him a smile then kissed his cheek  
with her ice kiss. He shivered and gave her a  
frustrated look for doing that to him. He wasn't  
a little kid anymore.  
  
"I'll go get your Uncle Kurama, your father  
and Yuusuke so that you can start looking for your  
uncle."   
  
His mother left with Keiko in the same  
direction from which they had come. As soon as  
the adults where out of ear shot Arashi spoke up.  
  
"So the little twirp was right, Uncle Hiei is  
going to have a baby. I'll be damned."   
  
Arashi reached out and ruffled his little  
sister's hair in compliment. The little girl  
beamed with the satisfied smirk that she picked up  
from her uncle.  
  
"See, told ya," she said as she tucked one of  
her slightly crushed flowers in Mechiko's hair.  
  
"Shouldn't you get started looking for him?"   
Mechiko asked as she came to her feet with a  
giggly Koori slung over her shoulder like a sack  
of potatoes.   
  
Kiseki nodded his head in agreement as he  
walked over to the middle of the clearing, away  
from the others so that they would not complicate  
the energy patterns he could sense with his mind.   
He slowly shut himself off from the physical world  
and let his mind's eye open to the psychic plane.   
Colors blazed across his field of vision, dancing  
around each other, making a collage of images. He  
was skilled enough to be able to distinguish the  
various colors and shapes as either humans,  
animals, youkai or the plant life around him.  
  
Kiseki looked for the familiar pattern of his  
uncle's youki and after a few false starts and  
cold trails, he found the way his panicked uncle  
had fled. In his mind he was running the same  
path his uncle had taken, following the colors  
that he had left behind. When he touched those  
colors with his own reiki he could feel the  
distress, pain and panic his uncle had felt as he  
ran. He paused the place where his uncle stopped  
to fight back the pain, feeling the touch of his  
youki still lingering in the bark of the tree.  
  
His heart sank when he felt another youkai's  
rei start to follow his uncle's closely. It  
hounded his steps, keeping just far enough behind  
not to be sensed. Kiseki stepped up his search,  
knowing what he would find but hoping that he was  
wrong. He with his mind's eye he followed his  
uncle's youki to the hidden cave and was almost  
blinded by the intensity of the youki that burned  
purple and green in his vision. He recognized the  
two different youki in the flames and could feel  
it reforming into a new color, a new being.   
  
He looked beyond the flames, straining his  
powers and tried to reached inside one of the  
sleeping minds within the cave. The intensity of  
the youki flames were too much for him and he had  
to give up trying to make contact. He quickly  
pulled back to the physical world knowing that  
they had very little time. He opened his eyes and  
looked at the expectant group that had been  
staring at him.  
  
"We have a bigger problem than we thought."   
  
Maryoku's interest was instantly peaked.   
"What sort of problem? Is there something wrong  
with your uncle?"  
  
"No, as far as I can tell he may feel like  
crap, but he's physically fine. The problem is  
that Kitsuryuu is with him," Kiseki watched as  
the others of the group realized how much trouble  
they were going to be in if their parents found  
out about their youkai friend.  
  
"Fuck! I *knew* that damn fox was going to be  
trouble," Arashi muttered under his breath.   
  
Fuyu slapped the back of his head soundly and  
as she glared at her twin. "Shut up, Arashi! Now  
is not the time to pull this I-hate-that-fox  
routine."  
  
Arashi rubbed the back of his head and glared  
back at his sister but didn't say another word.   
  
"So, what are we going to do, Brother?" she  
asked Kiseki.   
  
"I don't know."   
  
"I'll tell you what we're going to do,"  
Maryoku said as he removed Koori from his sister's  
shoulder and handed her to Kiseki. "Me and  
Mechiko are going to Kitsuryuu's cave and we're  
going to get her the hell out of there."   
  
He pointed at Kiseki's chest, "You are going  
to help give us a head start by leading them  
around a bit before you take them to the cave."  
  
Kiseki's eyes went wide in panic. "What if  
they find out that I'm leading them on a wild  
goose chase?"   
  
"Would you rather them find out about  
Kitsuryuu and send her to the Makai? Or have them  
find out that we've been hiding her? If they send  
her to the Makai she wouldn't last a week with  
that damn collar around her neck."   
  
Kiseki could feel the youki rolling inside  
Maryoku and wondered again if his quiet friend had  
more that just a passing interest Kitsuryuu.   
Koori turned in his arms and Kiseki could see the  
tears brimming in her eyes. She sniffled and  
tried to fight them back, but one was able to make  
it's way down her cheek. When it dropped off the  
end of her jaw it turned into one of the tear gems  
his family was known for. Both of his sisters  
cried tear gems, but he and his brother didn't  
unless there was a large amount of emotion behind  
those tears.  
  
"Don't let Kitsuryuu go away, Kiseki."   
  
He knew his heart was lost to Koori's request  
when she tried so hard to keep her lip from  
trembling when she made that seemingly simple  
request. He wiped her eyes, then stroked her  
hair.  
  
"I won't let her go away, Koori," he kissed  
her head, then handed her over to his other  
sister. "You two better get going. I'll try and  
hold them off as much as I can, but their bound to  
catch on quickly."   
  
Both Maryoku and Mechiko nodded their heads  
with understanding before they ran into the  
forest. After a few minutes his father, Yuusuke  
and Uncle Kurama came into the clearing. As soon  
as Kiseki saw his uncle's drawn and wan face he  
knew that this was going to be one of the most  
difficult things he had ever had to do. He could  
feel the waves of worry and stomach twisting agony  
roll off Kurama's being, filling him with a sense  
of dread that was hard to shake off. Kiseki took  
a deep breath and readied himself for the lies he  
was about to tell.  
==========  
end chapter 4  
  
Here is another chapter for you people to read.  
My mother is calling me to put on the mock up  
of my wedding dress, so I'll talk to ys later.  
  
As always, comment and replies welcomed and looked for.  
  
Kat 


	5. five

Here is another chapter kindly edited by our own  
lovely Windlily.  
Thank you for all your help!  
  
  
The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 5  
by Kat Aubuchon  
  
  
Kurama's stomach twisted in thick knots of  
worry as he paced the length of the room. His  
tortured mind wondered if this night was  
punishment for the bastard he had once been. If  
this was Fate's justice for the children he may  
have fathered and never thought or cared about.   
He found himself praying to a deity he thought he  
had forgotten. Praying that Fate was not so cruel  
that it would punish an innocent child and Hiei  
for his past mistakes.  
  
Kurama stormed out the back door, unable to  
wait another minute for Yukina to come back with  
her oldest son. The warm summer breeze pulled  
strands of his red hair from the tie at the nape  
of his neck. With a quick hand he wiped it away,  
annoyed. He could hear Yuusuke and Kuwabara  
talking in the distance in what they considered  
hushed whispers. He headed for them with the  
intention of asking Kuwabara where he could find  
Kiseki, but paused, unnoticed, as he picked up on  
the words of their debate.  
  
"...a *boy* with silver hair and red eyes,"   
Yuusuke whispered with a threatening glare toward  
his friend.  
  
"Are you crazy, Urameshi?! A *girl* with red  
hair and gold eyes," Kuwabara glared back.  
  
"The *boy* isn't going to get all his  
features from Kurama."  
  
"*She* is going to be beautiful, so that  
rules out the shrimp."  
  
"No way! *He* is going to..."  
  
Some of Kurama's anxiety lifted as he  
listened to his close friends discuss his child as  
if it was only a matter of going into a room and  
seeing the baby, or they were just down the hall  
in the waiting room of the hospital. It gave him  
hope that they were going to find Hiei and the  
baby alive and well. Guessing the children's sex  
and looks had become a tradition since that long  
and painful night when Yuusuke's twins had been  
born.   
  
Keiko had some life threatening complications  
with her pregnancy and had been rushed to the  
hospital two months early. Yuusuke had gone  
totally numb and wouldn't talk to any of them when  
they showed up to keep vigil with him. Hiei had  
been the one that started the game by trying to  
guess what sex the baby was going to be and what  
it was going to look like.   
  
After a few absurd guesses by the rest of  
them, Yuusuke finally came out of his catatonic  
state and offering his own theories on what the  
baby was going to look like. All of them lost  
because Keiko delivered twins much to everyone's  
surprise.  
  
The pair of arguing friends started shoving  
each other lightly, then that escalated to punches  
and finally ended with Kuwabara laying dazed on  
the grass. Yuusuke had long ago out classed  
Kuwabara in strength but their fist fights always  
ended in the same way they had since High School.   
Both of them with a bleeding nose or swollen lip  
that got them scowls from their wives.   
  
Yuusuke glanced over his shoulder and saw  
Kurama behind the bushes watching them. He came  
over and gave him a knowing smile as he slapped  
him on the back, hard. Kurama was taken off guard  
and stumbled a few steps and bearly recovered in  
time to get a very similar greeting from Kuwabara.  
  
"So how does it feel to be a daddy, Kurama?"  
Yuusuke asked as he plucked blades of grass from  
his hair and tucked his shirt back into his grass  
stained jeans.   
  
"I don't even now if I'm a father yet," deep  
emotion showing in his glassy eyes as Kurama  
looked off into the trees, "...or if I'm still a  
father..." he finished quietly.  
  
Yuusuke stretched to put an arm around  
Kurama's shoulders and gave him a rough one armed  
hug. "Nothing's going to happen to Hiei or the  
baby, Kurama. He only left three hours ago and  
Yukina's pretty sure that he isn't going to  
actually have the kid for another hour or so.   
We'll find them."  
  
Kurama looked at Kuwabara for conformation of  
what Yuusuke had just said. He know that Yukina  
theorized that it wouldn't take Hiei as long to  
have a baby as it did for her. Hiei was a S-class  
youkai while Yukina didn't even have a class  
ranking. Hiei had a lot more power at his command  
to make this child. Kuwabara gave him a  
understanding smile and nodded in agreement as he  
wrapped his arm around Kurama's shoulders in the  
same manner as Yuusuke so that Kurama was now  
flanked by both of his friends.  
  
"Just think, Kurama. You won't have to  
listen to nine months of 'I'm fat and ugly',"  
Kuwabara reassured him.  
  
"Or have to get up in the middle of the night  
to find only the gods know what, because Hiei  
wants it *now*," Yuusuke put in.  
  
"Or have to buy maternity clothes..."   
  
"Or wonder if your going to make it through  
the night without getting rolled over on and  
crushed..."  
  
"Maybe you'd like to start sleeping on the  
couch, Yuusuke," Keiko growled behind them with  
little humor.  
  
Kurama heard Yuusuke's quietly spoken curse  
and felt him stiffen in anticipation of an attack.   
Kuwabara found Yuusuke getting caught in the act  
of complaining about his pregnant wife was  
hysterical. He tried gallantly to keep it inside  
but his silent laughter made all three of them  
shake. Keiko grabbed her husband by the ear and  
pulled him around to face her. He gave a yell to  
let everybody know that he was being abused.  
  
"If Mechiko wasn't a girl I'd swear that she  
was your clone," Keiko grumbled as she released  
his ear and pulled a piece of grass that he'd  
missed out of Yuusuke's hair, taking a few strands  
with it, on purpose.   
  
"Ouch! I can't help it if she's perfect!"  
Yuusuke grinned wrapped his arms as far as he  
could around his wife. "As beautiful as her  
mother and with my personality, how could you go  
wrong?"  
  
Keiko punched him on the arm and gave him a  
glare that was tempered by the grin she was trying  
to hide. "Idiot. A girl her age shouldn't be  
running around having fist fights with boys. She  
got sent home from school three times last month  
for fighting."  
  
"So she isn't good enough not to get caught,  
yet. Maybe she'll get better," he said hopefully.  
  
Keiko rolled her eyes skyward in defeat and  
pushed her husband toward Kurama. "Here take him.   
And don't listen to a word he says. Children do  
*not* need to be sent to another plant to be  
raised."  
  
"Hey! I saw that somewhere and it seemed  
like a really good idea at the time!"  
  
Keiko swung a fist at Yuusuke but missed him  
completely when he deftly stepped out of the way.   
Yuusuke made a face at her and she threw her hands  
up. "Who needs children with men like these?"  
  
Yukina giggled behind her hand and with a  
mischievous gleam in her eye tipped her head over  
to Keiko. "How else were we going to find  
intelligent conversation?"  
  
"Hey!" both Yuusuke and Kuwabara complained.  
  
"Well, talking about our husbands and their  
new sleeping arrangements isn't why we're here,"  
Keiko said as she stepped closer to Kurama.   
"Kiseki said that it shouldn't be too hard to find  
Hiei. He just needs sometime to get a fix on  
him."  
  
--------  
  
Both Kuwabara and Yuusuke sobered quickly  
with the news and gave their wives strong hugs, as  
they always did when they left. With the kind of  
lives they led they could never be certain of the  
next time they would see each other. Yuusuke  
whispered something into Keiko's ear and she  
nodded her head against his shoulder, then pulled  
away from him. He moved his hands from her  
rounded stomach to her face and kissed her  
forehead before completely letting go. Kurama  
wondered if Yuusuke was thinking about his own  
fears for his wife and child.   
  
Yuusuke had moved his family to the Kuwabara  
household when he had found out that Keiko was  
going to have another baby so that she would never  
be far away from a healer if she needed one.   
After Keiko's near fatal first pregnancy the  
doctors had advised against her ever getting  
pregnant again. This pregnancy had come as a  
surprise to the both of them because of the amount  
of time that had passed since the twin's birth.   
  
Keiko and Yukina headed back to the house  
talking softly about airing out the other guest  
room for Kurama, Hiei and the baby.  
  
"Well, we better go see what Kiseki has come  
up with so far," Kuwabara said as he led the of  
men through the trees to the kids favorite hang  
out.  
  
Kurama hung back, still processing all the  
possibilities that could happen when they found  
Hiei. Once in the clearing Kurama saw only the  
Kuwabara siblings sitting on the short stone wall  
waiting nervously. He felt sorry that this whole  
situation had frightened the children and felt  
even worse for Kiseki. The poor boy looked as if  
he feared one of the adults was going to rip his  
head off.  
  
"Kiseki, where are Maryoku and Mechiko? I  
thought they were with you," Yuusuke asked.  
  
Kiseki reacted as if his spine had been  
replaced with a steel rod. He stood up so stiff  
and straight that Kurama thought the boy would  
brake his back if he tried to move. The oldest  
Kuwabara child tried to answer but his sister beat  
him to it.  
  
"They went to the house for something, I  
think," Fuyu lifted Koori to her hip and grabbed  
her twin with her free hand. "We'll go look for  
them."  
  
Before any of the adults could question or  
stop them, they disappeared. Kurama wondered at  
Fuyu's unusual abrupt manner, and her twin's  
unusual compliant attitude. He pushed it to the  
back of his mind and looked at the only remaining  
child. Kiseki looked as if he would like to find  
a rock to hide under. His already pale skin  
turned a ghostly white and he repetitively wiped  
his palms on his pants legs.  
  
Kuwabara placed his large hand on his son's  
slender shoulder making Kurama aware that while  
Fuyu might someday be a tall woman, Arashi was the  
only Kuwabara child that had any real hope of  
becoming as large as their father. The rest of  
the children had the Koorimei slender build of  
their mother.  
  
Kiseki seemed to shrink under his father's  
attention. The young man tried to hide in their  
sight, trying not to be noticed by them. He kept  
his head down and his hands clasped tightly in  
front of him.  
  
  
"So, have you found any sign of your uncle  
yet?" Kuwabara asked his son.  
  
Kiseki actually cringed at the softly spoken  
question. Alarm started to grow in Kurama,  
wrapping painfully around his heart. Was Kiseki  
nervous because he *couldn't* find Hiei? The  
lavender haired boy took a deep breath and warily  
lifted his pink eyes up to look at them, then  
quickly looked back down. He twisted the end of  
his shirt in his trembling hands, then started to  
unfasten and refasten it's bottom button. Kurama  
had the urge to take the boy's shoulders in his  
hands and shake the answer out of him.  
  
"I... I think that I found him," came  
Kiseki's barely audible answer.  
  
"I hear a 'but' somewhere in there, Kiseki,"  
Kuwabara said encouragingly lightly rubbed the  
back of his son's neck, "What's wrong?"  
  
"It's really hard for me to get a fix on him,  
because he's all weird and stuff right now. He  
doesn't look the same."  
  
"Hey kiddo. Just do the best you can and  
we'll see what happens from there," Yuusuke  
reassured him.  
  
Kurama's adopted nephew looked over at him  
with a pleading look in his scared eyes. He  
wasn't sure, but Kurama thought it looked almost  
like the boy wanted forgiveness. Kiseki turned  
away from him and headed off into the forest with  
the three adults following close behind.  
  
#########  
  
The small fire demon hunting party had been  
on the move for almost an hour when Kiseki stopped  
as if to contemplate which way to go next. Kurama  
was beside himself with worry, he couldn't  
understand why this was taking so long. Even  
though the boy said that they were getting closer  
it seemed to him that they were getting no where.   
Yuusuke and Kuwabara came to stand in front of him  
and leaned their heads close to his so that Kiseki  
could not hear them.  
  
"Is it just me, or didn't we just pass by  
this particular boulder here fifteen minutes ago?"  
Yuusuke asked.  
  
Kurama took a better look at his surrounding  
and realized that Yuusuke was right. In fact, it  
didn't seem that they had gone far into the woods  
at all, and he had been too consumed by his own  
self-pity and worry to noticed.  
  
"Your right, Urameshi. I don't know what  
Kiseki is up to but he has been leading us in  
circles for a half an hour," Kuwabara said as he  
gave a puzzled glance in his son's direction.  
  
"Maybe Hiei crossed paths a few times and  
he's just having trouble finding which one is the  
newest," Kurama suggested hopefully.   
  
Kuwabara shook his head and continued to  
stare at Kiseki's back. "No, it just doesn't work  
that way. If Hiei crossed paths here Kiseki  
should have been able to tell and pick up the  
right one."   
  
Kuwabara didn't give them a chance to respond  
and walked to his son. He placed a hand on the  
boy's shoulder and didn't let him pull away.  
  
"Isn't time you stopped playing this game,  
Kuwabara Kiseki, and tell us where Hiei is?"   
  
Kiseki's shoulders drooped and with a nod of  
his head he started off in a totally new  
direction. The three of them exchanged looks but  
said nothing. Kuwabara followed the closest  
behind his son to let the boy know that his father  
wasn't going to put up with any more games.  
  
They followed a small stream for a few  
minutes, then a tall hill came into view. Kiseki  
took a sharp turn to the right and went into a  
denser section of trees. When they emerged they  
were at the base of the hill. Kurama could  
instantly feel Hiei's presence very close but he  
still could not tell where he was.  
  
Kiseki walked over to an area of dense vines  
and brambles and pulled them far enough away for  
Kurama to see what he recognized as a fox den  
entrance. Kurama pushed ahead of the others and  
with a thought he made the plants unwind  
themselves, clearing the narrow opening.  
  
As they pulled away Kurama could see that  
some of them were wet, the moonlight reflecting  
off the moisture. He reached out and discovered  
that it was fresh blood on the leaves. He didn't  
wait for the vines to finish moving and forced his  
way into the den.  
  
He changed to youko form to take advantage of  
his fox eyesight, but even with that he could  
bearly see in the dark interior. He was given a  
direction to move in by a soft murmuring sound. It  
was Hiei's purr.  
  
As he drew close he could hear another sound.   
A gentle coo that was sounding in time with the  
purr. Kurama's eyes had adjusted enough that he  
could now see a form laying on the floor in front  
of him. He hurried over and knelt beside Hiei's  
sleeping body. He could see that Hiei was on his  
side curled around a bundle of cloth that was  
making the coo he had heard.  
  
Hiei was holding on to the bundle as if where  
his life and the tiny body was so well wrapped  
that Kurama could only make out a mouth, nose and  
the tightly closed eyes of a beautiful infant.   
His reached out his hand and brushed the baby's  
cheek with the tip of his finger. The little  
thing screwed up it's face into a scowl that left  
no doubt who one of it's fathers was.   
  
Kurama remembered the blood at the entrance  
and did a quick survey of Hiei's condition. On  
first assessment there didn't seem to be any  
injuries of any kind on him and Kurama was left to  
wonder where the blood could have come from. He  
felt Hiei stir under his hands and looked down.  
  
Kurama heard Hiei's purring stop as he  
blinked open unfocused eyes and held the baby  
tighter to his chest. Kurama stroked Hiei's  
forehead gently as he kissed the top of his head,  
then his cheek, mouth, and nose coaxing his fire  
demon into awareness.  
  
"Kurama?" Hiei asked in a tired whisper.  
  
"I'm here Hiei. There's no need to worry."   
  
"Where is she?"   
  
Kurama was puzzled by the question. "Where is  
who?" he asked as he looked around the den.  
  
The small cave showed no sign that there had  
been anyone there other than Hiei. The only  
strange feature was the one wall where the surface  
looked to be smooth glass. Kurama turned his  
attention back to Hiei and gathered him into his  
arms, making sure the baby was nestled securely  
between Hiei's chest and his own.   
  
"Hey! Kurama. Is everything all right in  
there?" Kuwabara bellowed into the entrance.  
  
Hiei made a weak protest as he carried them  
to the entrance, but Kurama just held him tighter.  
  
"Where is she, Kurama? I have... I have to  
th..." Hiei never finished his statement.   
  
Kurama carefully carried Hiei and their baby  
out of the den, and then all the way to the  
Kuwabara's, refusing the offers of help from  
Yuusuke and Kuwabara. Once he had gotten Hiei and  
the baby settled in the hastily prepared guest  
room he had a chance to think about that look of  
relief on Kiseki's face when he had brought both  
Hiei and the baby out. Kurama had felt it wasn't  
all directed toward the safe discovery of Hiei and  
the baby. There was something else going on,  
something that had made Kiseki lead them in  
circles and delay them. Something to do with the  
blood on the leaves and the mystery woman Hiei had  
kept asking for.   
  
  
==========  
End Chapter 5  
  
As always, comments and replies welcome and looked  
for.  
  
Kat 


	6. six

Well here we go with those kids again!  
  
  
  
The Forgotten Child   
Chapter 6  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
edited by Windlily  
  
"Kitsuryuu is gonna kick your ass when she  
wakes up, Bro," Mechiko stated with amusement as  
she helped Maryoku lower the unconscious youko to  
the floor of the cave.  
  
Maryoku ignored his sister and her cheer at  
his discomfort. He was too busy trying to keep  
his hands from shaking as he examined Kitsuryuu's  
injured jaw. With very light and careful fingers  
he probed the area where his fist had connected.   
There was an angry red and purple bruise coloring  
her left cheek where his knuckles had hit but her  
jaw wasn't broken.   
  
He moved his attention to the large cut above  
her left eye that was still pouring blood down her  
face and into her dark, red-black hair. It made  
the hair on that side of her head appear  
completely black. Leaves were clinging the sticky  
wetness making it look like she had rolled on the  
ground after she had been injured.  
  
Maryoku pulled his once white T-shirt over  
his head and ripped it into long strips to dress  
her wound. He heard his twin gasp at his actions  
but continued to ignore her. One side of his  
shirt was useless as a bandage because it was  
already soaked with Kitsuryuu's blood. He still  
had a bitter taste in his mouth caused by the  
feeling of her warm blood soaking the front of his  
shirt as he carried her.  
  
"How are you gonna explain where your shirt  
went to?" his twin asked with just a hint of  
nervousness.  
  
"I'll think of something. I always do," he  
answered with a shrug of his shoulders as he  
finished tying off the makeshift bandage.   
  
He looked at Kitsuryuu's blood soaked hair  
and wished they had the time to at least rinse  
some of it out. He was glad that Kitsuryuu wasn't  
in her ice youko form, the bright red of her  
blood on the cool blue of her hair would have been  
more than his stomach could have handled. he thought as he rubbed his  
throbbing hand and wrist.  
  
"You know, that was a really good punch,  
Maryoku. Shit, I thought I'd never see you use  
your powers," Mechiko said with something close  
to hero-worship in her voice.  
  
"Yeah, first time I use my powers and I damn  
near broke my fist and her jaw," he said dryly.  
  
"Oh, that's because you put all the force on  
your knuckles instead of holding some back in your  
hand and arm, like Papa does. I bet Papa wasn't  
that strong at our age. Maybe you could ask him  
how to punch without..."   
  
Maryoku cut her off in mid babble. "I've  
told you before, Mechiko, I do not *want* to learn  
how to fight. Besides, Father has more important  
things to do," he bit out.   
  
He straightened the already straight bandage  
on Kitsuryuu's head to avoid looking at his  
sister's hurt face. He didn't mean to snap at  
her, but he couldn't help it sometimes. When she  
would go on and on about how wonderful their  
father was he just wanted to scream. Maryoku  
looked around Kitsuryuu's secondary den and hoped  
that an animal wouldn't smell the blood and  
disturb her before she was able to wake up on her  
own.  
  
This back-up cave wasn't as well hidden as  
her main one, and it was closer to the house too.   
He didn't like bringing Kitsuryuu so close to  
their parents but he had no other place to take  
her. He checked the bandage one more time, then  
signaled to Mechiko that it was time to go.  
  
He saw the expectant look on his sister's  
face and grinned, knowing her next question.  
  
"So Bro, what's the plan?"   
  
"First we are going to try and hide our  
trail, which will only work for a little while,  
but will give Kitsuryuu a few more hours to  
recover. That way if anyone is suspicious or if  
Hiei remembers she was with him it will be harder  
for them to find where we took her," he instructed  
his twin as they left the cave.  
  
Then we are going to *try* and sneak back to  
the house. If we're lucky, and if Mamma is  
helping with the baby, we may get back without  
being caught," Maryoku paused to make sure his  
sister was still following and was in agreement  
with the plan so far. When she nodded he  
continued.  
  
"If we *are* caught we're going to be  
grounded. Kiseki is probably already in trouble,  
but if Fuyu is the smart girl I think she is, then  
she is keeping herself and Arashi out of the  
middle of all this. They are going to be the ones  
who are going to have to explain all this to  
Kitsuryuu," he paused again and consider the  
possibility of all of them getting into trouble.   
What would they do then?  
  
"Well, whatever we do we need to get moving,"  
Mechiko sighed.  
  
Maryoku nodded his head in agreement and  
followed his sister's led. Mechiko was good at  
back tracking, leaving false trails and stuff like  
that. His gift was being able to predict the  
emotions and behaviors of other people. Maryoku  
had the ability to understand what made people  
tick, understand what they would do in a given  
situation. He didn't like the unknown. He didn't  
like to be surprised. He didn't like not knowing  
what was going on.   
  
He could analyze a person to the point that  
he could tell what they were thinking before they  
even thought it. He was almost always right,  
except when it came to Kitsuryuu. She was a wild  
card he could never figure out. She never did  
what he thought she was going to do. She never  
reacted the way he thought she should. , he thought. As soon as they told her  
'humans' were coming she should have turned tail  
and run, but instead she had stubbornly refused to  
leave.  
  
He remembered watching Kitsuryuu frantically  
signing something about pretty fire and 'little  
people' and knowing that they only had a short  
amount of time left before the adults showed. He  
tried to talk with her, but when she got really  
excited she reverted back to the crude signing she  
and Koori dreamed up when they first met. She  
down right refused to leave the 'little people'  
unprotected and he couldn't convince her  
otherwise.  
  
He was just about to try another approach  
when he felt the prickling pain at the back of his  
neck that let him know that Kiseki was trying to  
touch his thoughts, trying to talk to him. Kiseki  
quickly relayed that he wasn't going to be able  
to hold off the parents any longer and that they  
were only a few minutes away.  
  
He panicked and told Kitsuryuu that she was  
leaving with them whether she liked it or not.   
This time when she refused and turned to go back  
inside he reacted instinctively and let his  
charged fist fly. It hit her with a sickening  
crunch and pain had raced up his right arm with  
the impact. The pain was instantly forgotten when  
he saw that his punch had a lot more power behind  
it than he had realized.  
  
Kitsuryuu had been taken completely off guard  
by his attack and hadn't put up any defense. The  
momentum of his sucker punch was enough to make  
her spin around and fly the few feet to the cave  
entrance. Her head had hit the top of the  
entrance through the vines and her head bounced  
back hard enough so that he could hear her neck  
crack.  
  
He had been horrified that he had actually  
hit her and terrified that he had hurt her  
severely. All he could do was stand there stunned  
as she hung, entangled in the brambles around the  
entrance. Mechiko was the one that had pulled her  
unconscious body free and laid her on the ground.   
He had felt another prickle at the base of his  
neck and he knew that Kiseki was warning them  
again.  
  
Trying not to think about what he had just  
done, he picked Kitsuryuu's limp form from the dew  
dampened grass and told Mechiko to follow as he  
ran from the cave. He hadn't participated in the  
same kind of training as his sister or the  
Kuwabara twins, so it wasn't long before he had  
become winded. When he had slowed down he had  
realized that his shoulder was wet where her head  
was resting. He had pulled her far enough away  
from his chest to see her face and nearly passed  
out at the sight of all that blood on her pale  
face, knowing he was the one that had caused it.  
  
He pushed that sickening thought from his  
mind and concentrated on helping Mechiko hide  
their trail. It wasn't long before they were back  
in the yard and hiding in the bushes behind the  
house. The extra guest room light was on and  
Maryoku could make out three shadows against the  
shade. He could identify as his mother and her  
swollen belly, Yukina from her small stature and  
Kurama. That left his father and Kuwabara to  
worry about.  
  
They edged around the house heading for their  
rooms with skill born from many nighttime  
escapades. The kids rooms where right next to each  
other, one for the girls, one for the boys. They  
knew that Fuyu and Arashi would be waiting for  
them in the girls' room, letting them know if it  
was 'all clear'. The light was off, the signal  
that it was safe to come in. The twins made a  
quick scan of the yard, then a mad dash for the  
window. When they came to the sill, Maryoku made  
a cradle with his hands and helped his twin into  
the room.  
  
He grabbed the frame of the window and was  
about to hoist himself up when he felt a heavy  
hand on his shoulder. He slowly turned his head  
and came face to face with his father. Both of  
the girls in the room squealed when the lights  
snapped on in their room.   
  
"So, are you going to tell us where you two  
have been?" his father asked quietly.  
  
Maryoku jerked his shoulder from his father's  
grasp and turned completely to face him. He could  
hear shuffling behind him in the room and  
Kuwabara's heavy footsteps but kept his cool brown  
eyes trained on his father angry ones.  
  
"Out," the young man bit out.  
  
"Out where?" his father demanded in a louder  
voice.  
  
"Outside."  
  
His father's face turned a brilliant shade of  
red and he swung his fist at Maryoku. The boy  
didn't flinch. He knew that his father was  
capable of many things, but hitting him or his  
sister in anger wasn't one of them. The  
threatening fist went past his head and opened to  
hit flat against the house. The entire building  
shook and the girls gave another squeal of  
surprise accompanied by Kuwabara and Arashi  
identical cries of protest in the room. Maryoku's  
eyes never left his father's.  
  
"Hey Urameshi! Leave some of my house  
standing, will ya!" Kuwabara bellowed from inside  
the room.  
  
Father and son glared at each other, neither  
one giving ground. Long minutes ticked by and  
Maryoku started to wonder how much longer he would  
be able to hold out. His father was the first to  
move.  
  
"Were you out with Hiei?" his father question  
with bearly concealed anger in his quiet words.  
  
"No," Maryoku answered truthfully.  
  
"Did you tell Kiseki to lead us in the wrong  
direction?" his father questioned again with more  
venom.  
  
"What did he say?"  
  
"I"M NOT ASKING HIM!" his father yelled.  
  
Maryoku knew that he was pushing his father  
to the limit of his patience but didn't really  
care. It was about time his father understood  
that he wasn't his little boy anymore.  
  
"I already told you that we where out. What  
would make you think that we were up to  
something?" he asked his father snidely.  
  
Maryoku was surprised by his father's smile.   
He watched warily as his father pushed away from  
the house with his open hand and then crossed his  
arms in front of him. His father looked him up  
and down and then settled his eyes back to look  
into Maryoku's.  
  
"Well, it could be the fact that the two of  
you disappeared just as Kiseki was going to lead  
us to Hiei. It could be that the twins tried to  
cover for you when you left," his father leaned in  
close to him and grinned so that Maryoku could see  
all of his sharp fangs ," or it could be because   
you are missing your shirt and you have blood on  
your neck and jeans."  
  
Maryoku's hand flew up to his neck at the  
same time he looked down at his jeans. Sure  
enough there were drops of blood splattered across  
his legs that he must not have been able to see in  
the dim light of the forest. He could feel a  
light caking of what must be blood on the side of  
his neck, probably left when he had taken off his  
shirt.  
  
"Or, it could be this," Kuwabara said from  
inside the room.  
  
Maryoku heard the girls gasp and Arashi groan  
and he had to turn around to see what had them  
upset. Held stretched out in Kuwabara's hands for  
them all to see was Kitsuryuu's shirt. It wasn't  
just any shirt but the shirt that all five of them  
had signed with their names for her. Right there  
before them in black, blue and red marker was  
their judge, jury and executioner. They were  
defiantly caught.  
  
"Where... where did you get that?" Fuyu asked  
her father stunned.  
  
"Kurama and Hiei's baby was wrapped in it,"  
he informed her.  
  
Maryoku let his forehead hit the windowsill  
several times. Even unconscious in a cave a mile  
away Kitsuryuu had the ability to screw him up.   
That shirt was the one thing that he had been  
absolutely certain Kitsuryuu would have never  
parted with. She couldn't read yet, but she knew  
that the markings on it were their names. She  
treasured that shirt and never wore it, just  
pulled it out from time to time to look at it.   
But here it was putting the hangman's noose around  
their necks.  
  
"Damn f....urf," Arashi tried to say his  
favorite catch phrase but his twin's elbow in his  
stomach stopped him.  
  
"Don't you think it's about time you told us  
what really happened tonight, Maryoku?" Yuusuke  
asked his son.  
  
"I think it can wait until tomorrow,  
Yuusuke," Keiko said from behind her husband.  
  
Both Maryoku and Yuusuke made identical turns  
to look dumbfounded at her. Yuusuke stared opened  
mouthed at her for a minute before he found his  
voice.  
  
"What do you mean it can wait for later?!   
Our son and daughter have been out somewhere and  
won't tell us where they've been. He comes home,"   
Yuusuke pointed at his son's shirtless chest,  
"with no shirt and blood all over him, and you  
want to wait until tomorrow to figure out where  
they've been!"  
  
"I seem to remember waiting for you to come  
home a few nights and you came hauling your  
carcass back just like that. But that isn't the  
reason this discussion is going to wait until  
tomorrow. Both Hiei and Kurama need their sleep  
and I won't have you rocking the house with your  
temper," Keiko told him in a soft voice that was  
wrapped in steel.  
  
Yuusuke sputtered a few times but then  
clamped his mouth shut tightly. He turned on his  
heel, angry, and left his wife with their son and  
the open widow. Maryoku sagged with relief and  
smiled at his mother. She didn't smile back.  
  
"I meant what I said, Maryoku. This  
discussion will continue tomorrow and then you  
*will* tell us exactly what you have been up to.   
Do you understand me?"   
  
Maryoku couldn't met his mother's eyes so he  
focused on a spot on her shoulder. He shuffled  
his feet and he could feel an embarrassed blush  
creep along his cheeks.   
  
"Yes, Momma," he whispered.  
  
He felt her hand rub the back of his neck and  
was reminded of all the times she had comforted  
him like this. All the times his father left them  
to go to the Makai, all the times he wasn't there  
with them. He wanted to tell her to stop, but he  
knew that it comforted her as much as it   
comforted him.  
  
"Your a smart boy, Maryoku. You must of had  
a good reason for what you did. I'm not saying it  
was right to lie to us, but until I hear the whole  
story I'll try and not think about pulling you  
over my lap and beating some sense into you."   
  
Maryoku smiled and couldn't help but take  
advantage of the opening she left. "But, Momma,  
you don't have a lap anymore?!"   
  
She slapped his face lightly and pulled his  
ear. "I may take that from your father, but I'll  
not have my own children making fat jokes. Go to  
bed, get some sleep and we'll talk about this  
tomorrow."   
  
Keiko turned and addressed the faces that had  
been watching this melodrama from the window.  
"Show's over kids. Get to bed."  
  
They all grumbled and groaned, but none as  
loud as Kuwabara.  
=========  
end ch6  
  
Another chapter sent to you with Windlily's stamp of  
approval! As always comments and replies are welcomed  
and looked for. 


	7. seven

The Forgotten Child   
Chapter 7  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
edited by Windlily  
  
  
Hiei tried to keep the smile off his face as  
he listened to Kurama talk nonsense to their  
child. He was babbling on about pigs and markets  
and generally making a fool of himself. Hiei had  
always known that Kurama liked kids. He had  
watched him play with his nieces and nephews and  
the Urameshi twins, but he had never been down  
right sappy before.  
  
Hiei allowed himself a very small grin. He  
had felt the house shake earlier and it had  
awakened him from his deep sleep. With a half  
open ear he had listened to the argument down the  
hall, but the distance and the many walls that  
separated them had kept him from understanding  
what had been said.  
  
Yukina and Keiko had left them alone to go  
see what was going on and told Kurama to get some  
rest himself. The stubborn fox told them he would  
and then had spent the next hour counting fingers  
and toes! Hiei felt the bed move a little as  
Kurama finally climbed under the covers. He kept  
his eyes closed and continued to pretend he was  
asleep as Kurama counted fingers and toes for the  
fifth time that night.  
  
"You know, Kurama, the boy has the same  
number of fingers and toes he had five minutes  
ago," Hiei said quietly as he opened his eyes.   
  
Hiei looked into Kurama's amused green eyes  
and the damn fox actually *winked* at him! He  
tried to rescue his son from the mad youko but  
Kurama saw what he was trying to do and pulled the  
boy close to his chest.  
  
"Oh no you don't! Me and him have been  
bonding while you were sleeping and he likes  
having his toes counted just fine," Kurama said  
with a pout as he looked down at his son. "Isn't  
that right, sweetness?"  
  
Hiei followed Kurama's gaze down to the  
loosely wrapped bundle on the bed between them.   
Two chubby hands were holding the edge of the  
softly colored square of fabric Hiei recognized as  
Koori's old blanket and his tiny feet poked out of  
the bottom. His son's jet black hair was sticking  
out in every direction available, but so silky and  
fine that just the breath from Kurama's whispered  
question stirred them into movement.   
  
Their son's face was too round to have come  
from Hiei's side or from Kurama's youko side. The  
little brat looked exactly like the pictures  
Shiori had shown him of when 'Shuuichi' was born,  
except for the black hair for course. If the  
pictures weren't enough to convince Hiei that the  
boy took after Kurama's human side, the bright  
green eyes that glared back at Kurama was proof in  
itself. Hiei chuckled despite himself at his  
son's excellent timing.   
  
"Yeah, looks like he loves it," he said  
dryly.  
  
"He was fine before you woke up and scared  
him," Kurama grumbled.  
  
Hiei gave him a grunt and then tried to sit  
up. As soon as his head came off the pillow he  
knew it had been a mistake to move. His head  
started to pound and his whole body felt like pins  
were being poked into his skin. Kurama put a  
restraining hand on Hiei's shoulder but the fire  
demon just pushed it away.  
  
"You shouldn't get up Hiei. You need to  
rest," Kurama pleaded with him.  
  
"What I need is to move around a little. I  
think every limb I have is in a cationic sleep  
state," he groaned as he pushed himself from the  
bed.  
  
Hiei made it to the window and sat heavily on  
the wide sill. It was open and he turned his face  
into the breeze that stirred the strands of hair  
on his forehead. He closed his eyes and let the  
warm air seep into and relax his tired body. He  
had almost fallen back asleep on his window perch  
when he heard Kurama sob softly.  
  
"I'd thought that I'd lost you... both of  
you," Kurama mumbled into the soft blanket that  
surrounded their son.  
  
Hiei opened his eyes just enough to be able  
to see Kurama curled tightly around the sleeping  
baby. He could see the sparkle of his tears  
soaking into the fabric of the blanket at his  
cheek. Hiei realized that Kurama wasn't speaking  
to him, but to the baby. Kurama probably thought  
that he was asleep.  
  
"I was going crazy thinking that I had lost  
you, that I might never even get the chance to see  
you."  
  
Hiei felt his heart stop and then painfully  
start again with an aching thud. He knew that  
Kurama's words were meant only for their son's  
ears, but still they stabbed like poison daggers  
into his soul. Hiei was carried away into misery  
as he listened to Kurama's whispered thanks to a  
deity he didn't recognize. As each word fell in  
the otherwise quiet room, Hiei felt every ounce  
the bastard he was.  
  
Kurama had unwittingly brought Hiei's biggest  
fear to the forefront.   
  
He had asked himself that same question for  
almost fourteen years. Ever since the first day he  
realized that the overwhelming sense of loss that  
had been haunting him was caused by a child he had  
left to die. It had been the day that Yukina had  
'delivered' Kiseki that Hiei had begun to really  
understand what had happened to him three years  
earlier. The temperament changes, the strange  
urges, the absolutely consuming need to hide and  
finally the cold fog that muddled his memory and  
created the detachment that allowed him to leave  
his first born child in the cave where it had been  
born and not look back. It had taken three days  
for that strange fog in his head to fade and it  
was quickly replaced with the terrifying  
realization that he had lost something very  
important to him.  
  
For the next three days he had searched for  
what was missing, not even certain of what 'it'  
was. It had rained those three days, heavy sheets  
of warm summer rain that drenched him completely,  
but did not stop his search. At the end of the  
third day he resigned himself to the fact that he  
wasn't going to find what he was looking for and  
returned to Kurama's waiting arms.  
  
He couldn't count the number of times he'd  
lain awake at night watching Kurama sleep,  
wondering what their first child looked like.   
There were so many times that he wanted to tell  
him about the baby. Especially on the warm summer  
nights that surrounded what would have been the  
child's birthday. He wished that he had told  
Kurama the moment he had realized what had  
happened to him and the baby. He selfishly wanted  
someone to share his grief with, but this silent  
suffering was his self-inflicted punishment for  
what he had done.  
  
Hiei listened to Kurama's even breathing and  
knew that his overexcited lover had finally fallen  
asleep. He slipped silently from the window and  
made his way over to the bed. He pulled his son  
gently from Kurama's loose grip, taking care not  
to wake his lover, then held the child awkwardly  
to his chest. He ignored his fatigue as he went  
back to the window and reclaimed his perch.  
  
He then held his son out in front of him and  
marveled at the huge green eyes that blinked back.   
Hiei had no clue how to hold a new born baby and  
wished now that he had given in to his sister when  
she had tried to make him hold Koori. After a few  
experimental positions he finally just turned his  
son around and put him close to his heart. He  
found that if he reclined back far enough he could  
support the tiny body on his chest easily with one  
hand and now they could both see the glittering  
stars.  
  
When he got them both settled, he stroked  
back the feather light hairs that were constantly  
shifting in the breeze back from the baby's face,  
then looked back up at the stars. He searched the  
sky until he found the star he was looking for and  
gave a soft sigh.  
  
"I know I haven't talked to you for awhile,  
but there have been a lot changes lately. There's  
someone I want you to met," Hiei whispered into  
the breeze.   
  
He adjusted his hold on his son and hoisted  
him straighter on his chest as he tried to swallow  
the lump that was lodged painfully in his throat  
but it wouldn't move. He gave up trying and  
continued.  
  
"This is your baby bother. I haven't given  
him a name yet. I do have one in mind, but I have  
to ask your father if it is OK," he paused to  
fight to moisture that was gathering in his eyes  
and tried once again to clear his throat.  
  
"I'm sorry that you never got a proper name,  
but I didn't feel worthy of naming a child I'd  
abandoned."  
  
Hiei looked down at his now sleeping child  
and repeatedly stroked him. His fingers ran  
lightly from the top of his head and over his tiny  
face then over his round belly. "You don't have to  
worry about this little one ever being alone. He  
has his father and more aunts, uncles and cousins  
than he could possibly want."  
  
The breeze picked up to a gentle wind and  
carried the scent of heavy, rain clogged clouds.   
Hiei could tell that by tomorrow they would have  
heavy rain fall, just like the ones he had  
searched through almost seventeen years ago.  
  
"You'll be..." Hiei stopped and corrected  
himself, " You would have been seventeen next  
month. Your father probably would have planned  
some kind of silly party and invited his mother  
and all your friends. I think you would have  
liked knowing your crazy youko father. I know he  
would have liked to have known you."  
  
Hiei pulled his son higher and tighter to his  
chest. He placed his chin on the top of the  
infant's head and rubbed it against the black  
silky strands there. He looked back to the star  
he had picked as a substitute of his lost child.  
  
"Anyway, I've picked out a name for this  
little brat. I was thinking of calling him,  
Kyuukai. What do you think?" Hiei asked into the  
night.  
  
"I think it's a wonderful name, Hiei, and it  
suits him well," Kurama whispered behind him.  
  
Hiei sat perfectly still in shock. He felt  
Kurama's hand on his shoulder and he began to  
shake so badly he thought he might drop his son.   
Kurama came to stand where he could see Hiei's  
face, but the fire demon refused to met his eyes.   
Kurama placed a gentle but firm hand on his cheek  
and made him look him in the eye.  
  
"I also think that we have a lot to talk  
about, but right now I want to know which one,"  
Kurama stated cryptically.  
  
Hiei just blinked back him, uncomprehending.  
"Which one, what?" he asked.  
  
A sad but soft smile curled Kurama's lips as  
he came around behind Hiei and lifted both him and  
the baby he held into his lap. Kurama adjusted  
himself on the window sill so that they were all  
looking out into the night sky.   
  
"I want to know which one is our child,"  
Kurama whispered in to Hiei's hair as he made a  
sweeping gesture out the window.  
  
It took a minute for Hiei to understand that  
Kurama was talking about the star. He looked back  
into the sky as one single tear escaped to fall as  
a small gem into the baby's hair. He lifted his  
hand to point at a place low on the horizon.  
  
"The one just over the trees. It's twinkling  
blue and then red," he told him.  
  
Kurama's fingers laced into his own over  
their sleeping son's chest and he gave a gentle  
squeeze.   
  
"It's beautiful."  
  
============  
end chapter 7  
  
Well another sleepless night, another chapter!  
Hope you like! Comments and replies welcome.  
  
  
The following is just because my mother told me to:  
  
Kitsuryuu- combo of kitsune (fox) and ryuu  
(dragon)  
  
Kiseki- miracle  
  
Mechiko- actually I pulled this one right out of  
my baby book it means the righteous way. They list  
it as one of the more popular Japanese names. I thought  
that Keiko would put her foot down and give one of  
her children a normal name. ^_^  
  
Maryoku- magic user/maker  
  
Arashi- storm  
  
Fuyu- winter  
  
Koori- ice  
  
Kyuukai- long cherished hope  
  
Kat 


	8. eight

The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 8  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
patiently edited by Windlily  
  
  
  
Kitsuryuu's fire friend had been shedding  
massive amounts of youki into the fire. Merely  
cooling her friend had not been enough and she  
had been forced to stand facing the fire so that  
she would be in a better position to block the  
heat. Finally, with the biggest burst of youki  
she had ever felt, he passed out. She was barely  
able to hold back the heat as that final wave of  
youki made the fire constrict into a tight ball  
that burned white hot. For the next few minutes  
Kitsuryuu thought that she was going to choke to  
death as the collar pressed harder and tighter  
into her throat. Black spots appeared in front of  
her vision and she was on the verge of losing  
consciousness when everything suddenly stopped.  
  
She dropped to her knees gasping for air and  
fought the need to just lay down and sleep. She  
shifted forms from ice to fire as she crawled over  
to the unconscious man and was frantic when she  
couldn't wake him. She relaxed when she realized  
that he was only in a deep and exhausted sleep.   
Kitsuryuu made him as comfortable as she could in  
the bed of grass and sat down beside him. She  
gave a big yawn and tried to decide if she should  
follow his example and sleep when out of the  
corner of her eye she caught a movement on the  
floor where the fire had been.  
  
She cautiously approached the blackened pit,  
thinking that some kind of animal had wandered  
uninvited into her cave. Kitsuryuu was surprised  
by the naked little thing that was waving it's  
tiny arms and legs in the air. With a curiosity  
that had gotten her into trouble more times than  
not, she reached down for the creature that looked  
just like the little dolls Koori was constantly  
playing with.  
  
Her palm touched it's warm little belly and  
there was a spark of connection between the two of  
them. She knew instantly that this tiny thing had  
come from the wonderful fire the sleeping man  
behind her had made. It was a baby, so small and  
helpless she didn't think it would be able to last  
the warm summer night on it's own. He began to  
wiggle under her hand so she rubbed tiny circles  
over his belly to quiet him. This created the  
opposite effect and the infant began to squirm  
restlessly. Kitsuryuu was wondering if she should  
try and pick the baby up when he opened his eyes  
for the first time. Beautiful green eyes, eyes  
the same color as the green flames, looked at her  
from his round little face.  
  
There was no more question about picking him  
up once she had seen those eyes. They were her  
favorite color and held a quite plea in their  
cool, green depths. She was very careful to hold  
the baby's head like Koori had shown her with the  
dolls they played with until she had him settled  
in the crook of her arm. Kitsuryuu then rocked  
back and forth on her heels with the baby in her  
arms and watched him intently as he gave a big  
yawn and curled tighter against her.  
  
Kitsuryuu bent her face to the baby and  
nuzzled his soft face and neck with her nose,  
extracting an infinitely light vibration from the  
center of his chest. She closed her eyes and  
opened her senses to their fullest as she placed  
her cheek against his slightly rounded belly to  
feel the tiny noise that he made. She memorized  
the feel of his skin and his scent and wondered if  
her fire friend knew what a pretty baby he had  
made.  
  
Somewhere in the back of her mind Kitsuryuu  
remembered that Koori said babies needed to be  
wrapped up so they didn't get cold. She thought  
the baby felt warm enough, but Koori knew more  
about 'people' things than she did so she wrapped  
him tightly in her favorite shirt. Kitsuryuu was  
a little disappointed that the baby wasn't hers to  
keep as she bundled him up, but she hadn't been  
the one that had gone through all the work to make  
the pretty fire.   
  
She took the baby to her fire friend and  
shook him until the sleeping man opened his eyes.   
When he did, he blinked up at her in much the same  
manner as the baby had and it made her smile. She  
tried to offer the wrapped bundle to him but he  
reached past it to pick up a lock of her red-black  
hair and rubbed it between his fingers.  
  
He looked up at her with confusion in his red  
eyes as he held on to her hair. It was the first  
time Kitsuryuu had a chance to really look at the  
color of his eyes. It had been a while since she  
had seen her own reflection, but she thought that  
his eyes were the same color as her own, just a  
shade darker than either Koori's or Fuyu's.  
  
Kitsuryuu gently pulled her hair from his  
hand and offered the baby to him again. He didn't  
even look at the bundle in her hands and tried to  
talk to her instead. She placed a quieting finger  
to his lips and shook her head. She tried to  
communicate to him that she wasn't able to hear  
but he just scowled back at her. She didn't  
understand why he was acting the way he was.   
  
she  
thought.  
  
Kitsuryuu huffed, her version of a sigh, then  
placed the baby forcefully against the man's chest  
and wrapped his arms around the child for him. He  
narrowed his eyes and glared at her and she smiled  
sweetly, then grabbed a fistful of his spiky black  
hair and made him look down at what was in his  
arms.  
  
At first he just stared, then seemed to  
slowly become aware of what is was he held. There  
was an expression she couldn't read in his face as  
he touched the baby's cheek, then he pressed it  
tight against his chest. He turned on his side  
and curled himself around the tiny form and she  
rubbed his back with the same small circles she  
had used on the baby. He began the deep  
vibrations Kitsuryuu had felt before and she  
leaned her face to rest against his side so that  
she could feel them better. It definitely felt  
like rolling thunder instead of the gentle beating  
of a heart.  
  
With a contented smile she lifted her head  
and watched the two of them, her Little People,  
lay together. The shirt she wrapped the baby in  
had fallen onto her fire friend's face so she  
pulled it back and tucked it tighter under the  
baby's head. Just before she pulled her hand away  
she felt something smooth and hot roll across her  
palm. She instinctively closed her hand to  
capture it.  
  
When she opened her palm she found a perfect  
little black gem. She just stared at it in  
confusion. She had seen Koori cry tiny, ice blue  
gems the first time they met when the little one  
had hurt her arm, but she hadn't known that other  
people could cry them too.   
  
Kitsuryuu felt a rhythmic pounding on the  
outside wall of her den and slipped the still warm  
gem into her pocket. The cadence of the pounding  
indicated that Mechiko was the one banging on the  
hill face. The strength of each hit told her that  
there was something of importance happening. She  
looked back into the sleeping face of the baby and  
her fire friend and felt a nearly overwhelming  
need to protect them and to send Mechiko away.   
  
The pounding increased and the rhythm changed  
to Maryoku's emergency signal. She became  
slightly alarmed that Maryoku was the one now  
pounding against the hill. She decided that if  
she was going to protect these two very important  
people then she needed to see what had gotten  
Mechiko *and* Maryoku upset.   
  
With an awkward gesture, Kitsuryuu leaned  
down and kissed the baby's smooth cheek. She  
debated whether or not to kiss her fire friend's  
cheek also and decided against it. Kitsuryuu was  
not very comfortable with showing affection in her  
'people' forms. She would much rather give a lick  
of her kitsune tongue than press her lips against  
someone. The latter always left her more open and  
was something she never did except to Koori.  
  
The pounding increased to the point that dirt  
was falling from the inside of the den wall.   
Kitsuryuu quickly scrambled to her feet and was  
about to change into a kitsune, then thought  
better of it. Maryoku would be expecting her to  
come out the back entrance of her cave. With a  
mischievous gleam in her red eyes Kitsuryuu went  
to the little used front entrance and worked her  
way through the tangle of vines. She delighted in  
confounding Maryoku. He was always so smug with  
his precise predictions and accurate assessments  
and it made her feel useful to deflate his ego  
once and a while.   
  
Mechiko and Maryoku were still pounding at  
the hill side and watching the back entrance when  
she poked her head out from the brambles. She  
brought her hands sharply together to get their  
attention and they both jumped, startled by the  
noise.  
  
Kitsuryuu started to sign frantically,  
telling them all about the beautiful fire, her new  
friend and the baby. She didn't notice that  
neither one of them could understand until Maryoku  
reached out and grabbed her hands. She had  
expected Maryoku to be annoyed that she had fooled  
him again, but there was fear in his eyes instead  
of the chiding look and frown he normally gave her  
when he was angry.  
  
She calmed down and concentrated on watching  
his hands. This new way of signing Maryoku was  
teaching her was harder but she could express so  
much more with it than the gestures she and Koori  
had made up. All the kids had learned the signing  
with her and Maryoku had told them to speak while  
they were signing so that maybe someday she could  
read their lips. Her eyes grew to almost eclipse  
her face when she realized what he was telling  
her.  
  
/What do you mean, leave them?/ she signed  
angrily back.  
  
"You have to leave them here, Kitsuryuu.   
Parents are coming and they are looking for them.   
You can't let them see you!"   
  
/Will they hurt them?/ she asked, alarmed.  
  
"No, but they are coming to take them home.   
To watch them."  
  
/Tell 'Parents' to go away. I am staying  
here with the Little People to watch them./   
  
Maryoku's face turned a violent shade of red  
and he threw his hands up in exasperation.   
Apparently she was confusing him again, but right  
now it wasn't amusing. He wanted her to leave,  
and even though she knew that there were humans  
among the 'parents', Kitsuryuu did not want to  
leave her new friend and his beautiful baby.   
  
Kitsuryuu and Maryoku continued to 'yell' at  
each other, their signing becoming almost  
incoherent to the other as their tempers clashed.   
Finally Kitsuryuu had enough and told him that she  
didn't care if there was an entire 'city' of  
humans coming, she wasn't going to leave them.  
  
She went to turn away and the world when  
black.  
  
#############  
  
Kitsuryuu woke to a throbbing in her head and  
a nerveless body. She tried to move but none of  
her limbs wished to respond just yet, so she  
decided to open her eyes instead. To her surprise  
only the right one would open and even that small  
movement caused pain to lance through her already  
pounding skull. After several attempts to open  
her left eye she forcibly moved her arm and placed  
her fingers on the unresponsive eyelid. She could  
feel that there was something hard and crusty over  
her eye, holding it shut. She scraped some of it  
off with her short nails and moved her hand so  
that the eye that worked could see it.  
  
She had hunted and killed enough animals to  
immediately recognize the blackish red substance  
as dried blood. Her next concern was who's blood  
was it.  
  
She made another attempt to roll to her hands  
and knees but a wave of dizziness made her fall  
back down. She caught herself before her head hit  
the ground and the motion of falling caused the  
throbbing pain to increase behind her closed eyes.   
She decided that it would be better if she made a  
complete assessment of her condition before she  
tried to get up again.  
  
Moving each of her limbs in turn she found  
that while she was stiff from sleeping in this  
form instead of her kitsune shape, nothing was  
broken. She moved her hands over her skin looking  
for anything amiss. When her hands got to her  
head she found her problem.   
  
On the left side of her face there was good  
sized knot just forward of the jaw joint that  
protested loudly when she touched it. Her fingers  
traveled farther up and discovered a wide bandage  
wrapped tightly around her head. The wound that it  
covered must have not stopped bleeding for quite  
some time after it was applied. An abundance of  
dried blood was now holding her eye shut and had  
glued the bandage to her skin and hair.  
  
Kitsuryuu moved very slowly and managed to  
get up this time. She sat with her hands in her  
lap and tried to remember what had brought her to  
this condition. She thought back and remembered  
being in her den with the fire friend who made the  
beautiful fire. She smiled when she remembered  
what had been inside the bright flames that had  
turned the back wall into shiny glass.  
  
Kitsuryuu reached into her pocket and pulled  
out the hard black stone and looked at it. She  
had slipped the gem into her pocket and felt very  
guilty about taking it. Koori had told her that  
stealing was wrong but she had wanted something to  
keep, to remember them by when they left.  
  
Still, none of these things explained why she  
had a huge headache and a bandage on her head.   
Kitsuryuu's head snapped up when she remember why  
her face was such a mess. Maryoku had *hit* her!   
She could have seen the punch coming from Mechiko,  
Arashi, or even Fuyu, but *Maryoku*?! Kitsuryuu  
quickly came to her feet driven by a temper that  
burned hotter than any fire she could ever create.   
She ignored her pains and stomped out of the cave.   
  
She was furious to think that Maryoku,  
completely untrained in fighting, had not only  
gotten through her defenses but had knock her out  
with *one* blow. She was growling deep in her  
chest as she reached up and brutally ripped the  
bandage from her head, completely unaware of the  
small animals that cringed out of her way. She  
was so lost in her anger that she didn't register  
the many hairs that tore from her scalp or that  
she had reopened the large cut above her eye.  
  
She wasn't mad that he had hit her so much as  
she was pissed that because of his interference  
she was forced to leave her Little People  
unprotected from the humans. Maryoku had said  
that he would watch over them but she would have  
felt a lot better if she had of been the one to  
protect them.  
  
Once she arrived at the stream she plunged  
her entire head under the water and let the sting  
of the open wound and the chill of the water calm  
her temper. She lifted her head and watched the  
rust colored water cascade down from her blood  
encrusted hair with her right eye.  
  
She cursed herself for being an idiot and  
letting down her guard as she worked at getting  
the dried blood out of her hair and eye. She  
coolly thought about all the wonderful, nasty  
things she could do to Maryoku as she washed her  
hair until the water ran clear.  
  
After her temper was spent, Kitsuryuu  
regretted pulling the bandage off the way she had.   
She should have soaked it off so that the wound  
would have stayed closed. A thin trickle of blood  
still flowed from the cut and collected in the  
ridge of her left eyebrow before flowing down the  
side of her face.  
  
She searched the ground and found where she  
had thrown the bandage. When she picked it up she  
realized that it was made from the shirt Maryoku  
had been wearing. Last night she had been  
completely unconcerned that the 'parents' might  
find out about her, but now as she stood in the  
bright, early afternoon sunlight she was worried.   
She had been told many times that if the 'parents'  
found out about her that they all where going to  
be in really *big* trouble. She wondered if the  
'parents' would be able to tell that Maryoku had  
messed up his shirt for her.  
  
Kitsuryuu knew the consequences of the  
'parents' finding out about her. Maryoku had told  
her that if, for any reason, they found out about  
her she would have to go away. He told her that  
they would make her go to a place that was worse  
than the 'city' full of humans. Kitsuryuu could  
never understand why her friends wanted to stay  
with these 'parents' that seemed to be so mean.   
  
She bit her lower lip between her sharp fangs  
while she went over the plan Maryoku had given her  
in the event that something like this ever  
happened. She knew that if Maryoku was the one  
that brought her to the secondary cave something  
*really* bad must have happened. The first part  
of the plan was for her to hide out in the woods  
and wait for one of her friends to come and talk  
to her. If, in seven days, no one came she was  
suppose to leave the mountain and go as far as she  
could and to never come back.   
  
The thought of leaving her friends terrified  
her as nothing else could. This mountain was the  
only place she was safe and they were the only  
friends she had ever had. Maryoku had told her  
that the 'parents' would send her away because  
they would think she would hurt the humans. An  
ice cold sweat broke out across her skin as she  
remembered the humans that had caught her when she  
had left this mountain when she was young. She  
couldn't see how being sent to the place called  
'the Makai' could ever be worse than being  
captured by humans and having them hurt her for no  
reason. To have them lock her away in a space so  
small she couldn't even turn around. To have them  
take away the sounds that used to be all around  
her. To have them cut off her tail to hang as an  
ornament on their wall.  
  
Kitsuryuu unconsciously bit hard into her lip  
and swallowed the thick coppery liquid that flowed  
into her mouth. It wasn't as sweet as human  
blood, nor held the rush of power that drinking  
human blood brought. The first and only time she  
had tasted human blood was when she had escaped  
Them, when she had ripped out the throat of the  
human that had placed the collar around her neck.  
  
He had been dressed differently than the  
rest. He had worn long robes instead of simple  
hunters clothing. When she could still hear he  
used to chant words that sent bolts of pain though  
her body. He was always the boldest when it came  
to beating her. Once, the beating had been so bad  
that she had changed from her kitsune form to her  
youko for the first time to keep him from killing  
her. He had put the collar and the bands that had  
been around her wrists and ankles right after  
that.   
  
It had not been enough for him to be able to  
control her every movement with the collar and the  
bands. He had to humiliate her by cutting off her  
ears, taking her hearing with them. It was then  
that the hunters had gotten bolder and cut off her  
tail.   
  
On the day she escaped, they had taken her  
out of the tiny cell and were making her do tricks  
for their amusement. She had not eaten for days  
and did not perform to their standards so they  
started to beat her. The human in the robes had  
gotten very close to her face and with a desperate  
lunge she had captured his throat in her kitsune  
fangs. He had had human power running thick in  
his veins, power that had flowed out with his  
blood when she took his life.   
  
Her form had changed from kitsune to youko  
without her command and the hunters had stared at  
her in a combination of fear and wonder. The  
blood had run down her throat and she hungrily  
drank every drop that came. It had opened up an  
entirely different world for her. When she hadn't  
attacked them they attacked her. The blood had  
made her wild with power and crazed with a fever  
to kill again and again until all of the hunters  
around her were dead.  
  
Kitsuryuu's entire body had been on  
automatic. Her power had flared out around her in  
a corona of ice blue that froze the closest human  
into a block of ice. He shattered into many  
pieces when he had tumbled over onto the floor.   
The rest of them had tried to run, but the fire in  
her cold blood would not be satisfied by just the  
one hunter's death. Vines of ice had snaked out  
from her and wrapped themselves round the fleeing  
humans. The sharp ice thorns on the vines had  
pierced their skin, making their blood run out  
from between the tight coils. The smell of their  
blood had excited her more and the thorns grew  
longer until they went completely through each of  
their bodies.  
  
As the rush of power started to dissipate,  
Kitsuryuu had become aware of the collar and  
restraints struggling to contain her power. She  
regretted not being able to kill the humans again,  
but she contented herself with just crushing each  
of their skulls in an envelope of tiny ice thorns.   
She had watched each one pop through the clear ice  
before she let the collar and restraints take  
over.  
  
After that she had returned to the mountain  
and the den that had been the place of her birth.   
Kitsuryuu had remained alone for many years and in  
all that time she never once let herself use the  
hidden powers she had found. She had lived as a  
kitsune and was safe, if not a little lonely,  
until she met Koori.  
  
The little girl had tripped on a log and hurt  
her arm in the fall. Kitsuryuu had found her  
crying on her way home from a hunt. At first  
Kitsuryuu had been alarmed by the little girl's  
appearance, thinking that she was a human. Then  
she realized she didn't smell human or 'feel'  
human. Her curiosity got the better of her and  
the ice blue of the girl's hair, that was so much  
like her own, intrigued her. She had slowly  
approached until she was standing in front of her.   
The little person had looked up and tiny blue  
stones were falling from her face out of eyes that  
were almost the same color as her own.  
  
Koori had stopped crying and looked back at  
Kitsuryuu with the same amount of curiosity as the  
kitsune was looking at her. They had stayed like  
that for a while until Kitsuryuu felt the presence  
of someone new. She quickly ran off, but stayed   
just out of sight to see what would happen. A  
lavender haired boy came into view and took Koori  
away with him.   
  
It was several days before Kitsuryuu saw the  
little girl again, but after she realized the  
little person wouldn't hurt her they spent almost  
every afternoon together. It hadn't been long  
after the first day Koori tried to talk to her  
that Kitsuryuu allowed the little girl to see her  
youko form.  
  
Kitsuryuu still had the wards on her wrists  
and ankles and the collar, so the transformation  
was much more painful than it was now. Koori had  
held her head while she recovered and somewhere  
inside herself Kitsuryuu had found another plateau  
of power. It wasn't as strong as her youko form  
but it was much more powerful than being a  
kitsune. With a small mental nudge she had found  
the fire form that allowed her to be in a 'people'  
shape without all the pain of the restraints. For  
a year they had met and played together before  
they were 'caught'.  
  
Koori had accidentally stayed too long and  
the two of them had fallen asleep together. When  
her brothers, sister, and the other two had come  
looking for Koori they had found them together and  
panicked. They had thought Kitsuryuu was hurting  
Koori and Kitsuryuu had thought that they were  
going to hurt Koori. It didn't help that  
Kitsuryuu had gone crazy when she had smelled  
Arashi coming.  
  
His true self was so buried under his human  
body that she had attacked him first and nearly  
ripped his throat out as she had done to the other  
human. Mechiko was the one that pulled her off of  
him and delivered a round house kick that had  
taken some of the blood fever off her.  
  
After a lot of 'talking', and a lot of  
pleading on Koori's part, they had slowly worked  
out an agreement. If she learned to behave and to  
*not* attack humans, then they could all be  
friends. Kitsuryuu didn't want to lose their  
friendship, but she didn't know what would happen  
the next time she saw another human.  
  
Kitsuryuu put her face to the wind and  
smelled the storm that was coming. The years of  
living in the elements had taught her how to  
predict the weather. She knew that this storm was  
going to hold itself over the earth for a many  
days before it finally let loose of it's rain.   
Strong summer rains always held secrets and  
Kitsuryuu wondered what these had in store for  
her.  
  
=========  
End chapter 8  
  
Here's another chapter for you!   
  
Kat 


	9. nine

The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 9  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
lovingly edited by Windlily  
  
  
Yuusuke continued to rub his wife's lower  
back long after he was sure she was asleep. He  
shifted a little to get away from one of the steel  
springs that had started to press into his side in  
the couch he was laying on. Keiko had been true  
to her word and had made him sleep on the couch,  
but he had the last laugh when he had dragged the  
couch into their bedroom and calmly told her that  
she didn't say *where* the couch had to be.  
  
It had been midnight before Keiko had come to  
bed after her talk with their son. He had wanted  
to ask her what had happened after he left, but he  
had seen how tired she had looked and left it  
alone. With that thought in mind Yuusuke closed  
his eyes and reached around her extended belly to  
place his hand below her heart.  
  
He concentrated on the solid beat there and  
then pulled his senses tighter so that he was  
aware of nothing but her heart beat. He shifted  
his hand lower and listened for the tiny  
fluttering of his new child's heart. It was  
there, fast and strong just as it had been last  
night and the nights before that.   
  
The gentle, single rhythm indicated that  
there was only one child, but Yuusuke had been  
fooled last time also. He had only detected one  
heart beat with the twins. Suddenly the baby  
stirred and Keiko responded by arching her back  
slightly to accommodate the baby's new stretched  
out position. Yuusuke wondered if all mothers  
were able to respond to the children they carried  
like Keiko did. He had no reference for a normal  
human gestation, so he was left to wonder if Keiko  
was going to develop the same problems she had  
before.  
  
So far she had shown all the same symptoms.   
She ate far more than anyone else in the house and  
she just seemed to have this invisible aura that  
filled everyone around her with nervous energy.   
The most unsettling symptom was the unnaturally  
fast distention of her stomach. Her doctors had  
been amazed at the rapid growth of the babies  
during her first pregnancy and had performed  
countless test.  
  
Both of them had known that the baby was  
probably developing faster because it wasn't  
completely human, but they couldn't tell the  
doctors that. The thing that had the physicians  
puzzled the most was that no matter how hard they  
tried, or how many different machines they used,  
they could never get an ultrasound to work on  
Keiko. Kurama thought that the child probably had  
been what was causing the device to malfunction.   
He explained that Ningenkai technology didn't  
always work with Makai physiology. Yuusuke hadn't  
thought that there was going to be any real  
problem with the mix of human and Makai physiology  
until he had come home from the Makai to find  
Keiko on the living room floor.   
  
His first thought had been to call for an  
ambulance, but then he decided that it would take  
too long so he had carried her through the city  
himself. He had reluctantly given her over to the  
doctors and then slumped against the wall. He had  
just sat there with his hands trembling. He  
hadn't been able to handle the thought of losing  
her, he still wasn't. He knew that he would  
eventually out live her but had never imaged that  
she could be taken from him so soon.  
  
He couldn't remember how long he sat there  
before he realized that Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara  
were with him and making the most ridiculous  
guesses about the baby. He remembered one of the  
suggestions being a boy with long, spiky white  
hair that was going to like to be pushed around by  
humans girls. Another guess was for a girl that  
had the insane need to slap S-class youkai across  
the face for not taking out the trash on time.  
  
Yuusuke had been surprised that Hiei was even  
there, let alone that he had been actively  
participating in the guessing game. In a strange  
way it had comforted him to know that he was  
there, more so than the others. In between the  
guesses that were getting more and more  
outrageous, Hiei told him that Yukina had sneaked  
her way in to see Keiko and that she was doing  
everything she could to make sure that both the  
baby and his wife were OK.  
  
Hours later Yukina had come back glowing with  
a huge smile on her face and offered news that  
Keiko was going to be fine and he was the father  
of twins. He was pretty sure Kuwabara was the one  
that caught him when he had passed out. He found  
out later from Yukina that the reason Keiko had so  
much trouble was because the babies had bonded to  
her and in the natural process of being born they  
had tried to draw power from their mother. Since  
she didn't have much to give they completely  
sapped her dry.  
  
Yukina said that the only reason Keiko had  
survived until she was able to get help was the  
fact that he had carried her to the hospital. The  
twins had fed off of him and because of the sheer  
volume of power at his disposal he hadn't even  
felt it. Yukina had laughed and said that she  
wouldn't be surprised if they turned out just like  
he was and just as powerful.  
  
She had been right about the power but only  
half right about them being just like himself. It  
amazed him sometimes how alike he and Mechiko  
were. He had to agree with Keiko that his little  
girl was his clone in every thing but appearance.   
Maryoku was another story.  
  
Yuusuke quickly got off the couch and made  
his way to the window. He knew that he was too  
agitated to sleep and he didn't want to disturb  
Keiko's rest so he leapt out and jogged to the  
dojo. He slid open the doors and walked to the  
center of the room and sat down.   
  
"Why does my son hate me?" he asked the  
walls.  
  
He glared at the silent room and then turned  
the question on himself. When had his son started  
hating him? Maryoku hadn't always been this way.   
There used to be a time when his son called him  
Papa, a time when he would come to him to just  
talk. Granted Maryoku always seemed to be a much  
more intellectual boy than he ever was, but they  
used to find things to talk about.   
  
Mechiko on the other hand was entirely too  
easy to please. A ruffle of her hair and a story  
about the trouble he used to get into in his youth  
and she was happy. Maryoku always wanted more,  
needed more, and it had never been a problem until  
Yuusuke had been called back to the Makai to quiet  
a take over attempt.  
  
It hadn't been the first time he had left for  
the Makai to take care of business, but it was  
definitely the longest. He had left when the  
twins were eight and had to stay for three years.   
He had tried to call as much as he could, but  
finding a telephone booth in the middle of a  
battle field was hard to do.  
  
When he had gotten home he had been all but  
smothered by Keiko and Mechiko, while Maryoku had  
hung back. Keiko had told him to give their son  
time to adjust to him being home again, but it  
just got worse instead of better. Maryoku only  
addressed him formally as Father and never  
willingly talked to him first. There just wasn't  
anything for them to talk about anymore. Maryoku  
never had bad grades or skipped school or got into  
any trouble at all. He never fought, he always  
did as he was told, doted on Keiko even worse than  
Kurama doted on Shiori, and never talked back,  
except for tonight. Tonight was the first time  
Maryoku had openly disobeyed him, and for the life  
of him he couldn't figure out why. What kind of  
secret could the kids be hiding so stubbornly?  
  
Yuusuke didn't realize so much time had  
passed until the rays of early morning sunlight  
shone though the still opened door and stuck his  
face. He blearily looked at the bright sunshine  
that played false against his mood and rose to go  
back to the house.  
  
As always, Yukina was already up and had half  
of breakfast done when he walked into the kitchen.   
She blinked several times at his unusual early  
morning showing, but did not comment. Yuusuke  
watched her work busily in the kitchen that her  
husband had designed for her. Everything was  
placed so that she could easily reach whatever she  
needed without assistance. In fact, Kuwabara had  
made sure that everything in the house was made to  
accommodate Yukina's shorter height. It took a  
little getting use to everything being down low,  
and more than once he had been hit for saying they  
were living with the seven dwarves and just hadn't  
seen them yet.  
  
Yukina placed the last of her bowls on the  
table and as it was as if an unheard magic bell  
had been rung. Kuwabara, the Kuwabara horde, his  
kids and Keiko came into the room. He politely  
declined when Yukina asked if he wanted anything  
and just sat back to watch the rest of the people  
at the table.  
  
Kuwabara sat in his usual spot and did not  
start eating until Yukina was satisfied that  
everybody was severed and sat down to eat. The  
Kuwabara twins sat side by side and every once in  
a while Fuyu would elbow her brother and make him  
eat slower, or neater, or quieter. Kiseki picked  
at his breakfast and kept glancing at Mechiko as  
she steadily shoved food into her mouth. Koori  
sat at her place beside her 'father' and chatted  
constantly about giving a present to Uncle Hiei  
and getting to see the baby as soon as she was  
done eating. His wife was quickly polishing off  
her breakfast, unaware that Maryoku was taking his  
food and placing it on her plate each time she  
fussed at Mechiko to behave.  
  
Yuusuke watched the children for any signs of  
nervousness about the interrogation they were in  
for later, but they were acting like they always  
did. For an instant Maryoku looked him in the eye  
and Yuusuke swore he saw a silver glimmer there  
before his son looked away. He wanted to persue  
that, but a very bedraggled Kurama wandered into  
the room and all eyes fell on him.  
  
Kurama was wearing Keiko's pink robe with the  
green satin lining that she could no longer wear  
because of her increased size. He looked like the  
walking dead as he made his way around the table  
to the kitchen beyond. There were dark circles  
under his less than lively green eyes and his  
bright red hair was doing a very good impression  
of a porcupine. The lifting of his hand was his  
only greeting before he stumbled into the kitchen.  
  
Yukina and Keiko were instantly on their feet  
and hurrying into the kitchen after him. Yuusuke  
could hear Kurama's mumbled replies to the  
bombardment of questions he was being asked about  
the baby, Hiei, and himself. Kurama's appearance  
had a dramatic effect on the children that didn't  
go unnoticed by himself or Kuwabara. Each and  
every one of them had gone perfectly still and  
Kiseki even started to turn pale. They kept  
throwing meaningful glances at each other as they  
readied their defense.  
  
Yuusuke was about to begin the questioning  
when there was a sound that he hadn't heard for a  
few years. An infant crying. Kurama was out of  
the kitchen, flew over the table with a single  
leap and was down the hall before anyone could  
blink. Keiko and Yukina quickly followed, but  
before Keiko disappeared down the hall she stopped  
to address the stunned group.  
  
"Why don't you go into the dojo for this,  
Yuusuke. That way if there's any yelling you  
won't disturb the baby."  
  
Yuusuke and Kuwabara nodded to each other and  
indicated to the children that they were to  
follow. They all walked single file with Yuusuke  
in the front and Kuwabara bringing up the rear,  
like a prison chain gang. Even little Koori  
adopted a gloomy expression so that she wouldn't  
look out of place in the group. It was ruined  
however when she bent down along the way to pick a  
few flowers.  
  
Yuusuke was the first into the building so he  
had the opportunity to watch each of the  
'prisoners' walk in. Mechiko had followed  
directly behind him and came to stand next to the  
wall to his right. She almost seemed to have a  
bored expression on her face as she waited for the  
questioning to begin. The Kuwabara twins were  
next and they sat close together facing him, Fuyu  
with her hands clasped in her lap and Arashi with  
his elbow in his knee and his head in his hand.   
Koori bounced in behind her siblings and promptly  
sat down and started to twist the flowers she had  
collected into a braid.   
  
Yuusuke wondered why the little girl was here  
at all since she wasn't one of the ones that had  
participated in the secret. When Kiseki came in  
Yuusuke knew that he was going to be the weakest  
link in the chain. The young boy wouldn't look up  
from his shoes and had his arms just hanging down  
at his sides. Maryoku was the last to enter  
before Kuwabara. His son leaned his back against  
the wall opposite his sister and crossed his arms  
over his chest.   
  
Maryoku's unusual behavior annoyed Yuusuke  
and he had the feeling that it was the effect his  
son was looking for. He wasn't going to let  
Maryoku out do him so he schooled his face to show  
no emotion and tried to recall the speech he had  
prepared on the way to the dojo. He deliberately  
paced the length of the room from his daughter to  
his son before he started.  
  
"I'm not going to ask if you guys were up to  
something because I already know that you were.   
There is plenty enough evidence saying that *all*  
of you are in on some kind of secret. I just want  
to know what that secret is," Yuusuke said as he  
watched for reactions.  
  
None of the kids moved, but Kiseki blushed  
crimson and hung his head lower. Koori was  
oblivious to his speech because she had never been  
lectured to before, and just continued to braid  
her flowers. Yuusuke saw that this line of  
thought wasn't getting the reaction he needed so  
he tried something different.  
  
"Hiei told Kurama that there was a youkai in  
the cave with him. Kurama believes that Hiei  
wasn't dreaming or delirious, so that means that  
there is a youkai running loose out there. This  
youkai might not have hurt him, but you can never  
tell what a youkai might do to a human. Don't you  
realize how dangerous a youkai loose in the  
Ningenkai is?" he asked as he stopped his pacing  
and faced the children.  
  
Mechiko was twirling a tiny blade that  
alternated youki and then reiki in-between her  
fingers when she looked up at his question.  
  
"Oh come on, Papa, youkai aren't *that*  
dangerous," she replied in a sarcastic tone as she  
made the blade disappear.  
  
Yuusuke shook his head at his daughter's  
oversimplification of the matter at hand. He  
looked to the twins next. Fuyu had created a tiny  
snow storm in the palm of her hand which she  
quickly stopped when he looked at her. She looked  
genuinely started by his question and turned to  
her brother. Arashi had his Reiken across his  
shoulders and yawned.  
  
"All youkai are trouble and should be killed  
on site," he responded with a grin to his sister  
just before she delivered one of her well placed  
slaps to the back of his head. "What?!" he  
demanded in annoyance, but she just glared back.  
  
Koori, still blissfully unaware, was frosting  
her flowers with a light dusting of ice crystals  
so that they would remain in their braided  
position. When she finished she looked up and  
offered them to him. He obediently took the  
flowers and was just barely able to sense a light  
psychic ripple in the air around him.   
  
He looked past Koori and locked his gaze with  
Kuwabara to see if he was the cause of it. His  
friend shook his head to answer his unspoken  
question. Yuusuke looked at Kiseki next, but the  
boy was looking straight at his younger siblings.   
Yuusuke could feel the familiar prickling at the  
base of his skull, and in Kiseki's clear voice he  
heard the words, 'Arashi, don't make trouble.' in  
his head.   
  
He didn't think that the message was for him  
to hear, but the other children must have been in  
on the transmission from the looks of discomfort  
on the other faces.   
  
Yuusuke put a weary hand to his forehead and  
tried to rub away the tension headache he knew was  
coming. These kids were being impossible and he  
had learned nothing from his questioning, so he  
asked again.   
  
"Listen, I know that there is a youkai  
somewhere close by. Regardless of what you may  
say, we need to find it and send it back to the  
Makai. It could be dangerous to let it run wild  
this close to the city," Yuusuke said as he  
squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of  
his nose between his fingers.  
  
Yuusuke felt a sharp increase in power in the  
room. It startled him to realize that it was  
coming from Maryoku. The power that his son had  
always kept a tight lid on was now boiling over  
the top despite the boy's efforts to keep it in  
check. When he looked over to his son, Yuusuke  
saw that Maryoku was outlined in a faint yellow  
glow as he glared at him from beneath the bangs  
that had fallen in front of his eyes. Cold, hard  
youkai eyes pierced him with a silver look.  
  
"Yes, *very* dangerous," came his son's  
hissing reply.  
  
He looked stupidly at his son and realized  
that Kuwabara was just as surprised by Maryoku's  
hostility. From behind him Yuusuke heard his  
daughter softly growl her brother's name. Still  
in a daze he watched her make a cutting motion  
across her throat and give Maryoku a quelling  
look.   
  
He felt his son struggle harder to control  
the emotions that were making his powers roll  
dangerously under the surface. With one last  
glare in Yuusuke's direction, Maryoku forced his  
body to settle and looked away.   
  
Yuusuke was literally stunned, he never  
realized how well these kids could control their  
powers. He was totally blown away by the fact  
Maryoku was using his power at *all*! Then he  
came to the sickening realization that *he* had  
been their age when he had become a detective for  
Koenma. he asked himself.  
  
Kuwabara must have noticed that Yuusuke had  
been thrown for a loop, because he took over the  
questioning. He knew that Kuwabara should have  
been the one to do the interrogation in the first  
place. His daytime job was maintaining high  
school discipline. Kuwabara had gone to college  
to become a gym teacher, but when he got his first  
job the principle had seen how easy it was for him  
to sniff out delinquents. He had been given free  
rein to control the wild children in what ever  
manner he saw fit.  
  
Kuwabara stood in front of the children and  
looked down at them from his impressive height.   
All he did was stare at them and they started to  
squirm, then finally they all stood up and/or  
straightened before him with their hands clasped  
behind their backs, even Maryoku.   
  
"You're all grounded until you tell us what  
is going on," Kuwabara stated in a deadly serious  
voice.  
  
Maryoku gave a grunt and all of the other  
kids let out a huge moan, but none of them  
complained louder than Arashi. The boy crossed  
his arms tightly in front of him and glared off  
into the distance.  
  
"I *knew* that damn fox was nothing but  
trouble! We should have turned her in when we  
found her!" he grumbled.  
  
Kuwabara's eyes lit up. "So the youkai is a  
youko and female."  
  
"ARASHI!" the kids yelled in unison at the  
traitor.  
  
"All of you can go to your rooms now and  
think about if you want to tell us more," Kuwabara  
said with a satisfied smirk on his face.  
  
The kids filed out one by one, each of them  
taking a turn at smacking Arashi upside the head.   
When Maryoku reached the door he stopped and  
looked out toward the woods. Yuusuke could almost  
swear that he saw a look of worry and doubt on his  
son's face before he followed the others to the  
house.  
  
Koori had stayed behind to wait for her  
father to pick her up. Kuwabara gently lifted her  
to his shoulder and she sat with her ankles  
crossed and her elbow on his head.   
  
"Are they in trouble again, Daddy?" she asked  
from her high perch.  
  
"When aren't they in trouble?" he asked her  
back.  
  
"When they're asleep," she stated maturely.  
  
Kuwabara and Yuusuke looked up at the little  
girl and she gave them one of Hiei's smirks.   
=========  
End chapter 9  
  
I'm on the way out the door to see my soon to be husband so  
enjoy reading while I'm gone!  
  
  
Kat 


	10. ten

Kat  
  
The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 10  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
edited masterfully by Windlily  
  
  
Kurama slid one of his emerald green eyes  
open to focus on the cheery little bird that sang  
in the open window. He followed it's movements as  
it hopped along the sill and peered into the room.   
As if sensing his scrutiny, the blue song bird  
turned to look at him before it flew off. Kurama  
opened both eyes and looked at the position of  
light on the wall and estimated that he had slept  
through lunch and it was now late afternoon. He  
wondered why the house was so quiet at this time  
of the day, but did not regret the blessed  
silence.  
  
He was spooned up behind Hiei. His lover's  
spiky black hair tickled his chin and nose, his  
right arm was wrapped loosely around Hiei's waist  
and his numb left arm was folded under his own  
head. It was no small victory that Kurama had  
finally convinced Hiei to sleep the night with  
him, and he had considered the war won when Hiei  
would allow him to hold him this close. This had  
become their normal sleeping arrangement when Hiei  
was in the Ningenkai.   
  
Kurama had always known that he couldn't kept  
Hiei in the Ningenkai the whole time that he was  
going to be living here. After his step-father  
died, he had promised himself, and his mother,  
that he would remain here until she had passed on.   
By this time Shiori and little Shuuichi had found  
out the truth about Kurama, and quite on accident  
he was told. The three of them had never told him  
what had happened that week he had gone on a  
business trip, but when he had come back he found  
his mother, brother and Hiei having dinner and  
chatting like old friends. She had even let Hiei  
eat in the kitchen window for crying out loud!   
When he questioned them about what had happened  
while he was gone, Hiei just refused to answer and  
Shiori and Shuuichi told him that if Hiei wanted  
him to know, he would tell him himself.  
  
Kurama marveled at his mind's ability to  
think of the strangest things when he was tired  
and was hoping to be able to go back to sleep when  
he felt a throbbing ache in his hip and the pins  
and needles pain of his numb left arm. The guest  
room his expending family had been given had the  
same lay out as the bedroom of his apartment. The  
door was directly opposite the window with the bed  
between the two. He knew that his current  
discomfort came from the fact that he was laying  
facing the window instead of the door.   
  
Normally Hiei insisted on facing the door so  
that he would be able to confront anyone coming  
in, but because the only space big enough to put  
the bassinet for the baby was next to the window  
he had changed his normal pattern so that he could  
keep an eye on Kyuukai. Since he always faced the  
same way Hiei did, he was forced to sleep on the  
wrong side. He didn't mind, as long as it kept  
Hiei happy and content.  
  
In an unusual act of superstition, Kurama had  
wanted to rearrange the entire bedroom so that his  
son was nowhere near that window. Somewhere in  
the recesses of his childhood memories were tales  
of children being taken from open windows by  
monsters of various sorts. He knew that it was  
ridiculous for him to think this way. Most of the  
tales were of foxes taking human form and either  
stealing into windows at night or tricking the  
human parents into giving up their children.   
  
The others were of spirits that floated in  
through open windows to steal infant souls in the  
night. He knew that a lot of the stories were  
just that, stories to scare little kids, but he  
was a fox spirit and he knew that sometimes things  
like this happened. Hiei's insistence that there  
had been a youkai in the cave with him made him  
nervous.  
  
He believed Hiei, even though his lover was  
unable to give a good description of the woman.   
He had told him that she had made ice and that her  
hair color had changed from a silver blue to  
reddish black, but beyond that and her red eyes,  
he couldn't tell him anything more about her.   
Yukina thought that maybe she was Koorimei, that  
would explain the ice and why Hiei hadn't  
abandoned the baby, but she was at a loss to  
explain the change in hair color.   
  
When Kurama had brought Hiei and the baby to  
the house, Hiei had been adamant that he go find  
this woman and bring her. After a few minutes of  
arguing, Hiei had fallen into an exhausted sleep.   
His sister said that he was having emotional  
swings because of the baby, and that most Koorimei  
became attached to those around them when they  
'delivered' their children. She assured him that  
in a few days Hiei would be back to his normal,  
cheery, smiley self.  
  
More than likely these dramatic shifts in  
Hiei's emotions were what had kept him from  
realizing that Kurama was awake and standing  
directly behind him when he unwittingly made his  
confession last night.  
  
When Kurama had awakened to find Hiei and  
Kyuukai in the window together, he had been amused  
that the baby had so affected Hiei that he was  
actually off his guard and acting the motherly  
part by cradling their son so close, but as he  
listened to his lover's secrets unfold he was no  
longer amused. He had been angry, no *furious*,  
that Hiei had not told him about the first baby.   
He couldn't believe that Hiei had been so cold as  
to not tell him something as important as this.   
He had been so blinded by regret, rage, and  
sadness that he almost missed what Hiei had to  
say.  
  
He had listened while Hiei talked in hushed  
whispers to a point in the sky. Kurama wondered  
how many of those nights he had caught Hiei in the  
window of his apartment looking out at the stars  
were nights that he was talking to this child he  
had not felt worthy enough to name. Kurama's  
anger was blown way in the wake of Hiei's own  
character assassination.  
  
Kurama tried to listen to the meaning behind  
Hiei's words instead of just hearing them. He  
didn't miss the fact that Hiei had not included  
himself in the list of people that would be there  
to watch over Kyuukai, or that he never once  
referred to himself as the children's father.   
Hiei had separated himself from them, the same way  
he had once separated himself from Yukina. He  
didn't want them to be associated with him,  
because he thought there was something wrong with  
himself.   
  
When he listened to the wistful way Hiei had  
talked to their unnamed child and heard the catch  
in his lover's voice when he mistakenly said their  
child 'was' going to be seventeen, he heart had  
shattered. He fell guilty for getting so angry at  
Hiei. It was obvious that Hiei had already  
punished himself for his mistakes.  
  
Kurama had pulled the pieces of acquired  
information together and realized that Hiei's  
first admission of love had been right after he  
had lost their first child. The days before that  
declaration Hiei had acted the same way he had for  
this birth, and their fight the night he had left  
nearly seventeen years ago had been echoed in the  
fight they had just last night at the Kuwabara's  
table.  
  
Kurama couldn't help but think that if he had  
of been more understanding, if had of kept his  
temper, if had of done something different, maybe  
Hiei wouldn't have run off and their child would  
still be alive. He thought about the name Hiei  
had chosen for their second child.   
  
Kyuukai, long cherished hope. There was a  
lot of meaning behind a name like that. He knew  
that it took a lot of time, effort and  
concentration for a Koorimei to have a child the  
way Hiei had Kyuukai. Had Hiei been thinking of  
making this child to replace the one they had  
lost, or did the name mean that he had hoped that  
there would be another child? Kurama liked to  
believe that the name meant that Hiei had finally  
forgiven himself, that with this child he would  
start over and let go of all the torment and  
misery he had built up over the quiet years.  
  
Kurama slid his hand up Hiei's waist to his  
shoulder, then continued his caress down the arm  
that was curled against his chest. He carefully  
laced his fingers with Hiei's and brought himself  
up on his numb arm. He ignored the tiny stabbing  
pain of a million unseen needles, and leaned  
farther forward so that he could see his lover's  
face.  
  
As he expected, Hiei wore an expression of  
pure exhaustion that allowed his face to take on  
an almost angelic look. Almost. If Hiei could  
figure out a way to glare with his eyes closed he  
would have done it by now. Kurama knew that it  
was only Hiei's complete drain of youki that  
allowed him to view him this relaxed and  
unguarded.  
  
He carefully lowered his head to kiss Hiei on  
his temple, then shifted his body lower to follow  
the curve of his lover's jaw with light kisses.   
His hand found it's way back to Hiei's hip and  
slipped down to his stomach to pull him tighter to  
him. Kurama's kisses turned into small bites as he  
went down the side of Hiei's neck to the junction  
of his neck and shoulder. He felt Hiei move his  
head to give him better access to his neck and  
Kurama grinned. He slowly moved his hand downward  
from Hiei's belly to the top of his thigh and made  
a very sharp bite to the neck that Hiei had  
willingly displayed for him. Hiei's hand came to  
rest on top of his own on his thigh, but instead  
of guiding, it stopped him.  
  
"As much as I am sure you would like to  
continue with this Fox, I am equally sure that  
Yukina will not appreciate you teaching her  
youngest daughter your version of the bird and the  
bees," Hiei said in a slightly amused tone.  
  
Kurama was instantly alerted to the little  
girl's presence at the foot of the bed. He looked  
down past the lump of covers that was his feet and  
saw a pair of very wide and interested red eyes  
peering over the edge of the bed. Kurama flopped  
back down on the mattress with a groan and covered  
his embarrassed face with his arm.  
  
"And just think, you have one now, too," Hiei  
said dryly as he motioned for Koori to come around  
to his side of the bed.  
  
The little girl jumped to her feet from her  
kneeling position at the foot of the bed and  
quickly came to Hiei. Under one slender arm,  
Koori had a professional sketch book and a box of  
crayons. Kurama wondered which of the kids let  
Koori use their very expensive sketch book for  
scribbling. He didn't even know that any of the  
kids were artistically inclined enough for a book  
like that. He knew that the little girl hadn't  
taken the book without asking. He had mistakenly  
told a story of his life as a thief when Koori was  
in ear shot once and had been given a serious talk  
about how bad 'taking without permission' was by  
the four year old.  
  
"What kind of trouble are you trying to make  
now?" Hiei asked his niece as he gently grabbed a  
fist full of her shirt and pulled her closer to  
him.  
  
Koori wrapped her arms around Hiei's neck and  
gave him a kiss on his cheek. Kurama watched in  
amusement as the fire demon shivered because of  
Koori's icy kiss and used the grip she had on his  
neck to pull her onto the bed with them.  
  
"If your going to be wiggling on the bed like  
that, you really should lock the door like Mommy  
and Daddy do," Koori reprimanded Kurama as she  
pulled a leaf of loose paper from the book and  
offered it to Hiei.  
  
"I'm sure he'll remember next time," Hiei  
told her as he took the paper, "What's this?"  
  
"A present for you and Uncle Kurama and the  
baby."  
  
Kurama sat up with Hiei and looked over  
Hiei's shoulder as he turned the picture several  
times in an attempt to distinguish which end of  
the picture was up. He finally decided on a  
position and looked over at the girl, confused.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Kurama let out a sigh and turned the paper  
around so that the red horse she had drawn in a  
field of tall grass would be right side up.  
  
"It's lovely, Koori," he told her.  
  
"Uncle Kurama, you're so silly." Koori  
giggled as she took the picture from them and  
turned it back the way Hiei had it, then gave it  
back.  
  
Hiei gave him a satisfied smirk at having the  
picture the right way and looked back at the  
little girl. "You still haven't told me what it  
is."  
  
Koori rolled her eyes, in a Hiei manner, and  
pointed at the paper he held. "It's all of us  
kids camping in the woods. See the fire and all  
of us standing around it?"  
  
Kurama looked closer at the picture and  
realized that the red horse he had seen earlier  
was actually the camp fire and the grass the horse  
had been standing in were really people. He  
counted the number of 'people' in the picture and  
found seven instead of six. He didn't think much  
about it, figuring that Koori had just miscounted  
or hadn't counted the number of kids at all and  
just keep drawing until there looked like there  
was enough of them. Hiei handed the picture and  
the sketch book to him to put away and continued  
to look at his niece.   
  
Kurama opened the book out of curiosity and  
was amazed at the beautiful pencil drawings  
inside. He flipped through the book and found  
pencil sketches and crayon drawings mixed in  
together. Some of the pictures were rough  
outlined pencil drawings that had been filled in  
with a four year old's crayon. There was a sketch  
of each of the kids, a few landscapes, and a  
detailed drawing of a fox. He looked in the  
corner of the sketch of the fox for an artist's  
mark, but all he found were two rather shaky,  
child-like characters for fox and dragon. Kurama  
set the book aside and decided to find out which  
of the kids had so much talent and had never  
showed it to anyone.  
  
"So why did you come sneaking in here in the  
first place, Koori?" Hiei asked the little girl on  
the edge of the bed.  
  
"I wanted to see the baby and Mommy said I  
could ask you if you were awake, so I walked in to  
see if you were awake, and now that you are... Can  
I see the baby?" Koori said in one long breath.  
  
Kurama blinked at the whirlwind question and  
began to shake his head, "I don't think that is a  
good idea right now Koori, the baby needs to sleep  
and..."  
  
"Go see the brat, Koori," Hiei interrupted,  
"He's going to wake up in a minute and thirty  
seconds any way."  
  
Hiei pushed the girl toward the bassinet, but  
before she would get off the bed she looked at  
Kurama to see if it was all right. Kurama gave a  
nod and the girl practically flew the few feet to  
the baby's bed. He wasn't sure if her little toes  
ever touched the ground.  
  
"A minute and thirty seconds?" he asked his  
lover.  
  
"A minute and ten seconds now." Hiei  
responded.  
  
"How do you know that?"   
  
Hiei just shrugged at the question. "Just  
know."  
  
Kurama shook his head and looked to see what  
Koori was doing. The little girl had found out  
that she was too short to see over the top of the  
bassinet and was dragging a stool over to stand  
on. Since Koori's attention was elsewhere at the  
moment, Kurama took advantage of it.  
  
He pushed Hiei back down on the bed and half  
covered him with his own body. He knew that Hiei  
wouldn't protest, because that would alert Koori  
that there was something going on. Koori's  
excited squeal broke them apart just before he was  
able to give his lover the long kiss he had  
planned.  
  
"A puppy!"  
  
Kurama and Hiei stared at each other and then  
questioned in unison, "A puppy?"  
  
Koori nodded emphatically at them and lifted  
the blanket wrapped bundle from the bassinet.   
Hiei quickly left the bed and before she had a  
chance to hop down from the stool he took the baby  
from her. He set the bundle on the bed and Kurama  
scurried over to see exactly what was going on.   
Hiei unwrapped the soft blanket and laying in the  
middle was a tiny fox kit.   
  
"See. A puppy," Koori informed her  
addle-patted uncles.  
  
Kurama had never seen a kit as small as the  
ball of bright red fur that was in front of him  
now. There were always runts in litters, but his  
little one could probably fit in his shirt pocket.   
  
"Kurama.... Explain this!" Hiei hissed.  
  
Their son started at the sound of Hiei's  
voice and tried to lift it's head, but only  
succeeded in bobbing it up and down. In  
frustration Kyuukai started to whine and move his  
paws in a swimming-like motion, but his round  
belly lifted him high enough that it prevented him  
from getting any traction.   
  
Kurama took pity on his son and picked him  
up. He placed him on his chest and the kit's fur  
was so close to matching Kurama's own hair color  
that he blended perfectly. The only mark on his  
blood red coat was a small patch of white on his  
forehead. In that patch of white there were a few  
hairs of the same red fur that covered the rest of  
his body. Kurama was sure that when Kyuukai got  
older those strands of red in the center would  
eventually form a patch that would give him a  
white star like pattern on his forehead like his  
grumpy father.  
  
"He's part youko, Hiei. What is there to  
explain?" he asked as he stroked his son's tiny  
folded ears and velvet nose.  
  
"What is there explain?! He was normal when  
I put him to sleep last night and now he's a dog!"   
  
"Hiei, your overreacting. He is *not* a dog,  
just a youko kit. A very tiny kit, but otherwise  
normal." A frown formed on Kurama's face as he  
looked at the newborn kit. "But...."  
  
"But what!" Hiei demanded.  
  
Kurama looked at the little girl that had  
been forgotten in the midst of all this new  
excitement.   
  
"Koori? Could you do me a favor? Go tell  
your mother that Kyuukai is going to be needing  
his bottle soon and that she is going to have to  
find those bottles she used when she nursed that  
puppy."  
  
Koori nodded her head and quickly gave her  
new cousin a kiss on his muzzle before scrabbling  
out the door. Kurama turned his attention back to  
Hiei's glaring face. Kyuukai started to whine in  
earnest now and bobbed his head rhythmically on  
Kurama's chest. Hiei's expression quickly changed  
from angry to worried as he reach for his son.   
Kurama let go of the kit and was amazed at how  
quickly Kyuukai calmed when Hiei cradled him to  
his neck.  
  
"Is there something wrong with him?" Hiei  
asked quietly.  
  
Kurama wanted to reassure Hiei that their son  
was perfectly fine, but the truth was he didn't  
know.   
  
"I don't know if there's something wrong or  
not.... It's just that he shouldn't be able to  
take kitsune form by himself, not at this age  
anyway."  
  
"So there is something wrong," Hiei said  
flatly.  
  
Kurama ran his hand through his hair and  
tried to think of a way to explain how kits  
matured and realized that he knew very little  
about the actual raising of kits.  
  
"A full blooded youko kit can't take  
different forms until they are at least a year old  
without their mother," he explained, but Hiei made  
no indication that he understood so he continued.   
  
"In other words, a kit will take on whatever  
form their mother takes. It's for ease of  
transport. A youko wouldn't have any trouble  
carrying a kitsune around, but a kitsune could  
never drag a youko infant, so if mother and child  
are in the same form then there isn't a problem."  
  
"So why is he doing it now?" Hiei asked  
frustrated.  
  
"I don't *know*! This is the first child  
I've ever had!"  
  
As soon at the words left his mouth Kurama  
wished he hadn't said them. He had no intention  
of making it sound like he was blaming Hiei for  
this, but by the look on Hiei's face it was clear  
that was the way he took it. Kurama took a step  
forward but stopped when he saw Hiei's tilted  
grin.  
  
"I guess your just going to have to figure it  
out, Fox," Hiei told him as he handed their  
kitsune son over.  
  
Out of reflex Kurama took Kyuukai from Hiei's  
out stretched arms, but when he tried to talk to  
his lover Yukina showed up. She was carrying a  
blanket, bottles and a baby bag that had to be  
bigger than she was. She got stuck in the door  
when one of the straps of the bag caught on the  
door knob. With an sigh of defeat she reached  
behind her to unhook the strap.  
  
"Well, I have the bottles you wanted, but I  
don't see...." Yukina stopped when she finally got  
free of the door and got a good look at the  
occupants of the room.   
  
She stared wide eyed at the little kitsune  
cradled in his hands. "It *is* a puppy... I mean  
a kit," she said stunned.  
  
Koori came from behind her mother and stood  
facing the adults. She placed her hands on her  
hips and shook her head at all of them.   
  
"Why doesn't anyone believe me?!" she asked  
exasperated.   
  
Koori went to the bed and grabbed the sketch  
book and went to go find the one person she knew  
would believe her.  
  
========  
End chapter 10 


	11. eleven

The Forgotten Child   
Chapter 11  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
edited by Windlily  
  
  
Koori hurried out the back door and hopped  
down the steps, counting each one out loud. She  
had Kitsuryuu's picture book securely tucked under  
one arm and her box of crayons under the other.   
She hadn't bothered to ask any of the kids if they  
wanted to go with her since they couldn't leave  
their rooms, and Koori was glad that none of the  
others were with her anyway. When they were  
tagging along they always took up all of  
Kitsuryuu's attention.   
  
Mechiko was always asking Kitsuryuu to train  
with her and Arashi. Arashi didn't have to ask.   
Kitsuryuu always ended up fighting with him  
anyway. Kiseki was always trying to figure out a  
way he could communicate with Kitsuryuu without  
the signing, but so far all he had been able do to  
was to see and send images. Maryoku and Fuyu were  
always making Kitsuryuu learn stuff, like the new  
signing and how to read and write, even if she  
didn't want to. Koori knew that her fox like the  
new finger words and learning to read the words  
that Maryoku and Fuyu wrote down for her, but  
hated it when they'd make her copy the new words  
down herself.   
  
Once Kitsuryuu and Maryoku had gotten into a  
fight about her not practicing her writing. He had  
told her that he wasn't going to buy her anymore  
nice picture paper if she didn't start working on  
her writing more. Koori grinned at the memory of  
Kitsuryuu advancing on Maryoku with her eyes  
glowing and her hand ablaze in red fire.   
Kitsuryuu had made a running leap at Maryoku with  
her hand up, ready to cook him alive and then  
suddenly change in mid flight to a fox. She had  
landed on his chest and knocked him to the ground.   
He had closed his eyes and hadn't known that she  
had changed until she gave him several huge,  
sloppy, wet kitsune kisses on his face. Everybody  
except Maryoku had laughed.  
  
Koori hurried her way along the side of the  
house. She had a standing engagement with  
Kitsuryuu to meet her after lunch and she was  
already very late. She turned the corner and  
started gaining speed, then skidded to a halt when  
she heard her uncle's voice.  
  
"All I'm saying, Hiei, is that we don't know  
anything about her!"  
  
Koori walked over to her uncles' open window  
and pressed herself against the wall. She didn't  
know what the adults in the room were talking  
about, but if Uncle Kurama was yelling it must be  
something bad.  
  
"So I'm suppose to sit by and let that idiot  
and Yuusuke hunt her down?!" Hiei's voice boomed  
out of the room and Koori cringe at the way he  
talked about her father.   
  
Koori knew her mother must not be in the  
room, because Uncle Hiei would never say things  
like that with her there. Her mother said that  
her uncle didn't really mean the things said, just  
that he didn't know how to say anything else. It  
reminded her of Kitsuryuu and Arashi. Kitsuryuu  
didn't like her brother because he was human, and  
Arashi didn't like Kitsuryuu because she didn't  
like him. She sort of understood why they fought,  
but it still didn't feel nice when they did.  
  
"No, but you have to understand. She's a  
youkai running loose in the Ningenkai. You don't  
know what she could do, or why she's here!"   
  
"I don't give a fuck *why* she's here! All I  
know is she's the reason why Kyuukai is alive and  
not in a ditch somewhere!"  
  
Koori was very confused by her uncles'  
discussion. Why would Kyuukai be in a ditch and  
why would Uncle Kurama not like Kitsuryuu when  
they were both fox spirits? She heard her Uncle  
Kurama sigh.  
  
"Hiei, if she were here right now I would get  
down on my hands and knees and kiss her feet. But  
her saving you and Kyuukai doesn't change the fact  
she doesn't belong here! She's youkai, and she  
belongs in the Makai."  
  
Koori hugged the book and crayons to her  
chest as she tried to keep herself from crying.   
Her uncle was going to make Kitsuryuu live in the  
Makai, and Maryoku said that Kitsuryuu wasn't  
strong enough with her collar on to survive there.   
She held on tighter to the objects in her arms,  
not noticing that she had crushed the box and a  
rainbow of colors were falling into the grass at  
her feet. Koori let out one hick-upping sigh and  
pulled herself up to her full three foot nothing  
height. Uncle Hiei had told her that crying never  
made anything better, only actions did.  
  
Koori inadvertently made a trail of brightly  
colored crayons to the edge of the yard as she  
ran. She could barely hear her Uncle Hiei's  
explosive reply to Uncle Kurama's words over the  
roll of thunder in the sky.   
  
"Then maybe I need to live in the Makai too!"  
  
She looked up as she ran to the path that  
would lead her to Kitsuryuu and saw no clouds to  
go with the thunder. The trees started to blur  
into one long streak as the tears formed in her  
eyes.  
  
Koori ran without looking where she was  
going. If she tripped, she just got to her feet  
again and continued. She ran until her lungs hurt  
and her knees were full of bloody scratches.   
Koori never lost her hold on the book or the empty  
box of crayons until she hit a solid wall of flesh  
she knew could only be one person. Koori let the  
book fall to the forest floor and wrapped her arms  
around Kitsuryuu's legs.  
  
==============  
  
Kitsuryuu pulled Koori's arms from around her  
legs and knelt so that she could see the little  
girls face. From her tree top perch Kitsuryuu had  
seen Koori running through woods and fall several  
times. She had jumped from tree to tree to get  
ahead of her friend and then jumped down in front  
of her. Kitsuryuu had almost been thrown  
backwards by the girls momentum when they  
collided.   
  
Kitsuryuu didn't know what was going on, but  
Koori was crying and cold hard gems were falling  
from her chin to land, forgotten, into the grass.   
Kitsuryuu searched the girl in front of her for  
injuries, but besides skinned knees she found  
nothing wrong with her. She pushed the light blue  
hair from Koori face and asked the little girl  
what was wrong. Koori just cried harder and flung  
her short arms around her neck.   
  
Kitsuryuu put one arm around her young  
friend's shoulders and picked up the sketch book.   
She made the weeping girl hold the book in her  
trembling fingers and then that arm went under the  
Koori's knees. Kitsuryuu lifted her up and made a  
leap to the branch above her head. She landed  
lightly and not a leaf on any of the limbs stirred  
as she leapt from tree to tree to avoid leaving a  
trail on the forest floor. She even changed her  
direction several times in case someone tried to  
follow her through the tree tops.   
  
Koori continued to cry as Kitsuryuu made her  
way to the cave. The little ice demon's face was  
pressed into her neck and the tears fell down the  
front of Kitsuryuu's shirt making gooseflesh  
appear on her skin. Kitsuryuu entered her cave  
and tried to put the little girl down but Koori  
refused to let go. With a gesture to her right,  
Kitsuryuu made a small youki fire in the blackened  
pit the baby had been born in. She sat cross  
legged on the floor and mentally adjusted the  
color of the flames from their natural deep wine  
to the lightest red she could manage. With the  
flames held in this shade, they almost looked like  
a real fire and cast an even and soft light on the  
walls.  
  
Kitsuryuu rocked Koori until the girl's  
crying turned into hick-ups, and then kissed her  
cool forehead. After a few minutes of gentle  
coaxing, Koori told her what was wrong. The worse  
of the scenarios had happened. She had been found  
out and the kids were in trouble. Koori started  
crying again before she had finished telling her  
what was going on. Kitsuryuu forcibly sat the  
girl in front of her and tipped Koori's head up so  
that she was looking her in the eyes.  
  
/Stop that. It is not helping,/ she told the  
little girl, and got a nod in response.  
  
Kitsuryuu needed to think about what to do  
and she thought best when she was drawing. She  
quickly went to the corner where she hid all her  
possessions and retrieved the box of pencils  
Mechiko had given her. Each of the kids had given  
her something different for her 'birthday'.   
Mechiko gave her the pencils, Fuyu, the  
watercolors. Kiseki gave the color pencils,  
Maryoku, the paper and canvas and Koori gave her a  
box of crayons. Arashi had given her a can of  
spring snakes that jumped out at her when she had  
opened them. She had given him a black eye.  
  
Kitsuryuu laid on her stomach and pulled the  
sketch book in front of her. Koori came to her  
side and laid parallel to her on the floor so she  
could watch her draw, her chin on her folded  
hands. Kitsuryuu thought for a moment about what  
to draw, but nothing came to mind so she just  
started to copy the interior of the cave.   
  
she thought as her  
picture started to take shape. Her hand moved  
faster as she considered her options and the  
stokes of the pencil became shorter and shaper,  
narrowing in on an image that was not normally in  
the cave.   
  
I should leave like Maryoku told me to do.   
The kids are already in trouble because of me.   
  
Her fingers turned the pencil in her hand so  
that it pointed away from the picture, and with  
the tip of one finger she blended the soft marks  
on the page to create shadows where she needed  
them. Kitsuryuu thought of the different places  
she could go when she left. She had long ago  
scouted out different locations before she had  
settled here. They were no better and no worse,  
but they didn't have the same hold on her that  
this place did. She had been born here, she was  
sure of it, and she wanted to hold on to this link  
to her past.  
  
Kitsuryuu decided on a place that was far  
away from any humans on the top of a very high  
mountain. It would take a day or two of hard  
running to get there and she would have to cross  
the Black Snake road that circled her mountain.   
It was also a place she knew that even her friends  
wouldn't be able to find.  
  
She had finished her picture and had signed  
her name in the corner without realizing it. She  
looked down at the drawing of the shadowy interior  
of her cave and the man that she had only met for  
a few short hours. She didn't know what made her  
think of him and the baby he was cradling, but it  
was one of her better pictures. She closed the  
book and looked over at Koori's sleeping face.  
  
The little girl normally fell asleep around  
this time every day she visited. If this had of  
been a normal day Kitsuryuu would have laid down  
with her and let the girl bury her face into her  
fur, but today she had too many things on her mind  
and too many hard decisions to carry out.  
  
Kitsuryuu settled herself in front of the  
fire she had created and stared into the flames.   
Kitsuryuu reached into her pocket and pulled out  
the gem her fire friend had made. There were no  
edges on the smooth surface of the black tear, but  
it did come to a point at one end. As she rolled  
it between her fingers she watched the red light  
of her fire play across it's surface making it  
seem even darker. She placed the gem on the  
ground and reached up to her hair and pulled a  
tiny section away from the rest. She made a few  
quick, tight knots at the top of the hairs where  
it connected with her scalp and then carefully  
twisted and braided it into a very thin and tight  
rope.  
  
She had learned how to make a rope out of her  
own hair by watching the hunters as they made  
there snares out of thread and wires. She had  
used her ropes to snare the rats and mice she  
couldn't reach from her cage. It hadn't been a  
lot, but it had kept her alive.  
  
The rope she made now was much thinner than  
the ones she used to snare animals. When she was  
done and had knotted off the end she pulled it  
from her scalp. She repeated the process one more  
time and made a web out of the two lengths of  
hair. The gem that she had laid to the side was  
placed in the center of the web and then enclosed  
in the silky cords.   
  
Kitsuryuu looked at her handy work and  
smiled. The gem was securely held in it's cradle  
and could be clearly seen through the delicate  
web. The tear gleamed in the light and each bend  
of her hair held it's own spark of dark red. She  
placed the ornament she made on her left wrist and  
wound the ends of the hair several times around  
her forearm and then tied it off.   
  
That finished, she decided she would take  
Koori back to 'the house' now. There was no point  
in dragging her feet once she had made her  
decision. Kitsuryuu went around the cave and  
collected all her belongings into one of her  
shirts. There was very little to carry, and she  
would only be taking them as far as 'the house'.   
She decided that she was going to give back  
everything she had been given. Once she left she  
would have no one to draw for, so taking them with  
her would be pointless.   
  
She took the sleeping Koori up in her arms  
and slung her make-shift sack over her shoulder,  
then with a backward glance she extinguish her  
fire and said goodbye to her home.  
  
Kitsuryuu carried Koori to 'the house' and  
carefully scanned the yard for all it's occupants.   
It was late in the afternoon and the sky was  
becoming overcast, giving the yard the appearance  
of dusk. She knew that it would start raining  
tonight and that it would help to hide her trail.   
She could sense many people and a few humans in  
the smaller building behind 'the house', and went  
there.   
  
Kitsuryuu looked through the open door from a  
tree branch near by. She found the 'parents' all  
standing around and the kids sitting on the floor,  
watching Maryoku and a man that looked just like  
him scream at each other. Kitsuryuu assumed that  
this was Maryoku's father. He had told her once  
about his father and how he wished that the older  
man would go away and never come back.   
  
Maryoku's father suddenly reached out and  
grabbed the boy and she could see and feel a  
massive aura surround him. Kitsuryuu became  
alarmed and was about to intervene when a round  
human came from behind and grabbed the man's  
shoulder.   
  
Kitsuryuu didn't know what to make of this  
human woman. She had no power to speak of, but  
she had the ability to stop the man instantly.   
When his aura faded back down Kitsuryuu was  
surprised to find that she could sense a person in  
the roundness of the human's belly. Had they let  
her eat the person?   
  
She temporarily ignored Maryoku and his  
father to follow the human's movements. She  
walked to one of the walls and a human male with  
long red hair pulled a stool out for the human  
woman to sit on. The woman was forgotten in favor  
of the human male.  
  
His mane of red hair was what drew her  
attention completely to him. When he straightened  
and looked towards the yelling pair, Kitsuryuu  
received another shock. His eyes were the same  
uncompromising deep green as the baby he held in  
his arms. Why was he holding the baby and why  
wasn't the fire friend there with his infant? Her  
worry turned into panic when the red head handed  
the baby over to the round human. Was she going  
to eat him too?  
  
Kitsuryuu jumped from the tree she was in to  
one that was closer, still holding the sleeping  
Koori in her arms as she kept her eyes trained on  
the human. The human placed the infant boy  
against her chest and rhythmically patted his back  
and bottom. Kitsuryuu considered this for a  
moment. Usually people don't comfort the food  
they're about to eat, and none of the kids seemed  
to think that there was anything wrong with this  
human holding the baby.  
  
She was still uncertain about the whole  
situation until Mechiko crawled over to the human  
woman and took the baby from her. Mechiko held  
the baby crookedly to her chest and the round  
human adjusted the girl's hold so that the infant  
was held more securely, then placed Mechiko's free  
hand against her belly. Kitsuryuu could see her  
friend say the words 'little brother' but couldn't  
see the rest of what she said when she turned her  
head away. Kitsuryuu hadn't told anyone that she  
could understand a lot of what they said without  
the signing. It gave her a tactical advantage  
when they tried to plan things against her.   
  
After seeing that the baby was safe and  
assuring herself that Maryoku could take care of  
himself with his father, Kitsuryuu adjusted her  
grip on Koori and ran the short distance to the  
house. She went in the window she knew to be the  
girl's room and placed Koori on the smallest bed.   
The little girl had slept through the run to the  
house and the argument Kitsuryuu knew had to be  
loud, but when she placed her on the sheets her  
eyes popped open. Kitsuryuu tried to smile for  
Koori, but she knew that her young friend could  
see through it.   
  
"You're leaving aren't you?" she asked.   
  
Koori's eyes where red and swollen from  
crying earlier, making her look pale and sick.   
Kitsuryuu only nodded in response.  
  
"I don't want you to go."  
  
/I know, but have to go./   
  
Kitsuryuu put her sack on the bed and opened  
it up. She took the picture book and gave it to  
Koori. The girl refused at first, but she kept  
pushing it at her until she took it.  
  
/Give these to the others. Tell them I will  
miss them, and will find again when away from  
'parents',/ Kitsuryuu told her as she laid out  
each item on the bed.  
  
She paused for a moment then untied the  
bracelet on her arm. She put it in Koori's hands  
and then looked her in the eye.  
  
/You give back to Fire Friend. Say I sorry I  
take. Tell him he have pretty baby and not leave  
alone./  
  
Kitsuryuu took the little girl's wrists and  
kissed each of her palms. Her throat started to  
get tight and she found it difficult to swallow as  
she rubbed her cheek against Koori's hands. The  
back of her eyes were burning and Kitsuryuu tried  
to blink the feeling away. Before she knew what  
was happening there was a hot wetness on her  
cheeks that traveled down her chin and fell into  
the little girl's hands.  
  
Koori pulled her hands away and Kitsuryuu  
looked at her in confusion. The little girl was  
looking at the round stones cupped in her palms.   
They were as black as the one gem in the bracelet  
she had made, but in the center of each stone  
there was a light that twinkled and pulsed a deep  
wine red and then a cool ice blue.   
  
Kitsuryuu backed away from the bed and wiped  
at the wetness on her face. She had cried before,  
when she had dust in her eyes or when Mechiko had  
connected with a really good punch, but her tears  
had never done this. The tightness in her throat  
seemed to go lower and center in her chest and she  
knew that if she didn't leave now, she never  
would. With one last look at Koori, Kitsuryuu ran  
to the window. She didn't bother to look to see  
if anyone would see her leaving, she just started  
running.  
  
She ran for hours and didn't care that her  
lungs were demanding air or her legs rest. She  
could feel a clap of thunder and she jumped. The  
rain was coming, but she didn't care. She ran at  
her top speed and the trees were nothing but brown  
and green smudges in her vision. She knew where  
she was going but still, when the long Black Snake  
road came in front of her, she was surprised.  
  
The rain started the moment she emerged from  
the trees. It was the hot, thick rain that only  
came in the summer and drenched everything in  
seconds. She slowed her pace a bit as she  
approached the road, but even at that inhuman  
speed she was unable to avoid the two bright orbs  
that seemed to appear instantly beside her.  
  
She was hit with a force that rivaled one of  
Mechiko's attacks, but instead of pain exploding  
in one spot it felt like her entire body was being  
crushed from the one side. As intense as the pain  
was it faded and her body went dumb and limp. She  
felt her ribs shatter and her left arm snap, and  
then her left thigh bone splinter out of her skin.  
  
For some insane reason she had enough time to  
look down and see white bone protruding from her  
leg before she was swept under what ever had hit  
her. Her hair tangled and then was ripped free as  
her face was dragged across the ground. Kitsuryuu  
rolled several more feet before she finally came  
to a stop.   
  
She laid there and wondered how long it was  
going to take her to die. She knew that she could  
possibly survive the injuries she had received,  
but not lying out in the open like this and  
defenseless. She was able to turn her head to see  
her blood flowing away with the rain across the  
black road and a pair of white shoes. She started  
to pass out as she looked up. She hoped that she  
would die quickly as the human knelt down beside  
her and put his hand to her throat.  
  
==========  
  
Here you go, another chapter! Did I make the three day dead line?  
Anyway, any comments welcome!  
  
Kat 


	12. tweleve

The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 12  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
edited by Windlily  
  
The Kuwabaras' dojo was packed with parents  
wanting answers that the children around them were  
reluctant to give. All the adults were there  
except for Hiei, who was taking a much needed nap.   
The fight Hiei and Kurama had over the mysterious  
youkai had drained the fire demon of what little  
strength he had gained back during the night.   
Hiei had resisted sleep, refusing to back down on  
his position about the unknown woman. It was only  
when Kurama agreed that the youkai would not be  
sent back to the Makai before Hiei had a chance to  
see her that his lover finally gave in and slept.  
  
Kurama, not being a parent of one of the  
accused children, stood at the back of the dojo  
holding his well fed, sleeping son. He gave the  
appearance of being totally absorbed in Kyuukai,  
playing with his fingers and belly, but he  
listened with interest to the fight that was  
brewing between Yuusuke and Maryoku. He was  
hoping that Yuusuke would shake some information  
about Hiei's youkai out of the boy. He had found  
out from Kuwabara that Arashi had let it slip that  
the youkai was a youko. This information had  
disturbed him.   
  
After Hiei had fallen asleep, he had been  
feeding Kyuukai when his son suddenly shifted back  
to his birth form. Kurama could tell instantly  
that Kyuukai's transformation was triggered by an  
outside influence, but at the time, he was still  
confused as to the cause. Now he believed that  
Kyuukai could be responding to this youko, either  
on his own or by manipulation. This youko had  
helped Hiei in the cave and she had plenty of time  
alone with the two of them, anything could have  
happened. He didn't like the idea of this totally  
unknown youko having any kind of control over his  
son and his lover.  
  
Kurama rested his gaze on Yukina and  
Kuwabara. They were standing a little behind  
Yuusuke as he continued to 'talk' to his son. The  
two of them were watching as Yuusuke laid into  
Maryoku with the full extent of his anger.   
Earlier Kurama had seen Kuwabara hold his gentle  
natured wife back as Yuusuke harshly questioned  
their own children. When every question had not  
been answered until Maryoku gave a nod of his  
head, Yuusuke had ignored the other children in  
the room and focused solely on the ring leader.  
  
Kurama nonchalantly looked at the rest of the  
kids that were seated on the floor, waiting to see  
what would come from the fight. Arashi and Fuyu  
sat side by side as always, but Fuyu was  
constantly reminding her twin to keep quite. It  
was pretty obvious that the other kids were still  
a little upset that Arashi had given out important  
information at the last interrogation by the way  
they kept throwing him silencing glares. Kiseki  
sat next to the object of his young affection,  
keeping Mechiko company while she nervously  
watched her brother get the tongue lashing of his  
life.  
  
"Well, maybe *you're* the one that needs to  
go back to the Makai! I'm surprised you're not  
there now! Don't you have some youkai to kill or  
a kingdom to run or something?" Maryoku screamed  
back into his father's face.  
  
Kurama was as surprised as Yuusuke by the  
boy's outburst. With a lightning fast movement  
Yuusuke reached out and grabbed his son's  
shoulders. His was angry enough that the careful  
guard he placed on his powers slipped, and Kurama  
could see the area around Yuusuke take on a faint  
yellow glow. The room stopped in dead silence.   
The only sound that could be heard was the rustle  
of a bird in the tree outside. The stillness was  
finally broken when Keiko placed a hand on her  
husband's shoulder.  
  
"I think that is quite enough, Maryoku. Put  
him down, Yuusuke," she quietly commanded them.   
  
Yuusuke slowly eased his hold on Maryoku  
until the boy was able to jerk free. The two of  
them locked gazes and practically ignored everyone  
else in the room. Almost everybody.  
  
"Maryoku, I told you last night that I wanted  
answers, so you better start talking or it won't  
be your father that you'll have to worry about,"  
Keiko informed her son with a hard look.  
  
Maryoku immediately lowered his eyes and  
backed away, but remained silent. Keiko walked  
away from her son and husband and sat on the stool  
Kurama offered her. Kurama marveled at the  
control she seemed to have over her husband and  
son. He could understand Maryoku, because Shiori  
has the same kind of power over him, but Yuusuke  
was different. Kurama couldn't count the number  
of times he had wished he had that kind of  
influence on Hiei. He didn't want to control his  
lover, but sometimes it would be nice to not have  
to fight through every discussion.   
  
Keiko pressed her hand against her rounded  
belly and gave a sigh. Kurama stopped looking at  
the standoff between father and son to give her a  
worried glance. Keiko gave him a bright smile to  
reassure him that she was fine and offered to take  
Kyuukai. Kurama handed his son over and the  
infant started to fuss at being moved. Keiko  
paid no attention to Kyuukai's whimpers and placed  
him at her shoulder to pat his back. Within five  
seconds, the baby boy gave a big lunged huff,  
turned his little face to Keiko's neck and went  
back to sleep.  
  
"Maryoku, they're going to find her  
eventually. If not by themselves, then with  
Koenma-sama's help. Maybe we should tell them  
everything," Fuyu suggested as her twin looked at  
her in opened mouthed astonishment.  
  
"Yeah, Bro. If we tell them, maybe they  
won't send her away," Mechiko agreed hopefully as  
she crawled her way over to her mother.  
  
Mechiko sat next to her mother's knee and  
Keiko asked her if she would like to hold the  
baby. Mechiko's eyes got big and she looked to  
Kurama before accepting her mother's offer. Again  
Kyuukai started to fuss, but as soon as Mechiko  
mimicked Keiko's patting technique he quieted.   
Kurama wondered were his son could have gotten his  
easy to please demeanor, he knew that it didn't  
come from either him or Hiei.  
  
"It wouldn't hurt that they know exactly who  
she is before they try and ship her off, Maryoku,"  
Kiseki chimed in, watching Mechiko hold his  
newborn cousin.  
  
Maryoku's hands were tightly clenched at his  
sides as he continued to look at his feet.   
Everyone in the room waited for him to speak.   
Maryoku finally looked up and focused on a point  
somewhere behind his father as he addressed Fuyu.  
  
"Go get the pictures and the paintings,  
Fuyu."   
  
The young girl scrabbled to her feet as  
Maryoku focused his gaze briefly on each adult in  
the room. The young man paused briefly when his  
gaze turned to Kurama, but continued onward.   
  
"And the box. I want them to know exactly  
what kind of 'monster' they want to send to her  
death."  
  
Fuyu stopped dead and looked uncertainly at  
her parents. With a nod from her mother, she  
quickly headed to the door of the dojo. The  
adults watched and were surprised when she stopped  
at the entrance and leapt to the top of the door.   
She walked along the 3 inch wide ledge with cat  
like grace, and then scampered across one of  
crossbeams of the ceiling. Fuyu handed a photo  
album, six portraits covered in cloth and a metal  
lock box that been hidden in the rafters down to  
Kiseki. The adults inched closer to get a better  
look at the paintings as Kiseki revealed them.  
  
The first was of Fuyu and Arashi. It was  
painted in bright watercolors and had a cheerful  
took to it even though only one of the people in  
it was smiling. Fuyu and Arashi were sitting back  
to back, Arashi perfectly straight, legs crossed  
while his sister was reclined back at an angle  
that made their heights slightly mismatched.   
Because of the difference in height, Fuyu's head  
was leaning back against her taller brothers  
shoulder. Her face was turned towards the painter  
with a serene smile, as if she were completely  
content.   
  
Fuyu's short blue hair and the edges of her  
sheer white dress were being tossed by a wind that  
could be seen by the snow flakes being tossed  
along with them. The ends of her blue bangs were  
in front of her red eyes, making them appear half  
closed. She had one knee upraised and both of her  
slender bare arms rested on it, and there was a  
bouquet of frosted wildflowers in her hands .  
  
Arashi sat like a guardian in his royal  
purple outfit with gold braids along the sleeve  
and collar. His arms were crossed in front of  
his chest and he was looking straight ahead of him  
so that he was in profile to the painter. He  
looked much older than his 11 years with his  
facial features set in such a serious and almost  
regal pose. While Fuyu's side of the painting was  
set off with a background of soft lavender,  
Arashi's side was a kaleidoscope of bright colors  
that swirled in the same pattern as his sister's  
snowflakes. In the bottom left corner was a deep  
red paw print.  
  
Yukina took the painting from her daughter  
after it was unwrapped and just stared at it,  
amazed.  
  
"The youko painted this?" Yuusuke asked Fuyu.  
  
"Her name is Kitsuryuu, *not* 'the youko',"  
Maryoku answered as he thrust another unwrapped  
painting at the adults.  
  
Keiko took this painting before anyone else  
had a chance to. It was of Mechiko in two  
different poses. The first was in the foreground  
and showed her from the waist up. She was  
stretched out on her side with one arm propping  
her up. For once she was wearing a clean and  
unripped school uniform in dark blue. There were  
several thin white ribbons holding back her  
shoulder length hair. Each ribbon was long enough  
to drape down to the ground, but each one took a  
different path, some went down her arm, and some  
came across her throat. Mechiko's free hand was  
plucking a yellow flower from the vivid green  
grass and there was a thoughtful look on her face.  
  
The next pose was set behind the first in a  
sky blue void. The young school girl of the other  
pose was gone and in her place was a fighter that  
knew she had no equal. Mechiko's hair was longer  
and wilder, flowing around her on a unseen wind.   
Her hair had lost it's light color in favor of a  
much darker brown, but her eyes retained their  
silver sheen. She was in a crouched position with  
her right leg bent at the knee and her left knee  
against the ground, giving the impression that she  
had been captured him mid-leap. Her left hand  
rested next to her knee, while her right was  
holding three youki blades between her fingers.   
The most striking difference between this pose and  
the last was that Mechiko had dark blue markings  
on the right side of her face and sharp fangs  
protruding from the snarl on her lips. The  
markings were typical for a Mazoku, and were in  
the same design as Yuusuke's except they were  
rounded where Yuusuke's were sharp points.  
  
"Since when could you do this, Mechiko?"  
Keiko asked her daughter as she pointed at the  
second pose.  
  
Mechiko looked very sheepish under the  
combined looks of her father and mother, and  
scratched the back of her head to try and hide her  
nervousness.  
  
"Well, you see... I kinda... accidentally got  
kinda mad," the girl answered.  
  
"She got pissed because Kitsuryuu was kicking  
her ass," Arashi butted in.  
  
"Shut up, jerk!" Mechiko threatened.  
  
"You mean you have been fighting with this  
'Kitsuryo' person?" Kuwabara asked as he moved  
closer.  
  
"Kitsuryuu! Her name is Ki-tsu-ryuu, and  
yes, we train a lot," Fuyu told her father.  
  
"All of you?!" Yukina asked startled.  
  
"Well, not all of us. Mostly just Mechiko,  
Arashi, and sometimes Fuyu, but every once and a  
while I'll join in too," Kiseki told his mother.  
  
"And exactly how long has this been going  
on?" Yuusuke asked.  
  
All the kids looked at each other and  
shuffled around a bit before the glaring eyes of  
their parents made them talk.  
  
"We've known about Kitsuryuu for a little  
over a year, but Koori has known her for about  
two," Maryoku finally answered.  
  
"Koori?!" all the adults gasped at once.  
  
"Yeah, she's a little stinker, isn't she?"  
Arashi stated with a reverent smile.  
  
"You're trying to tell us that you have been  
associating with a youko living on this mountain  
for two years, training and using youki strong  
enough to do this," Yuusuke pointed to the picture  
of his daughter," and we haven't known about it?"   
  
The kids stopped their embarrassed movements  
and they all turned to look at Kiseki, who was  
unsuccessful in trying to find a hole in the floor  
to hide in. He looked up quickly at his father's  
grinning face and then looked back down at his  
shoes. He started blushing furiously knowing he  
was the one who had been responsible for keeping  
their training sessions hidden from the adults.  
  
"I've been using a kind of damping field were  
we fight so that you couldn't tell what we were  
doing," Kiseki mumbled.  
  
"That isn't important right now," Kurama said  
from behind them as he came closer, "I want to  
know more about the youko."  
  
Maryoku gave Kurama a cold look, which the  
red head took without a blink. Kurama needed to  
know all he could about this youko, and her  
influences. The two of them were at a stand off  
until Fuyu thrust the forgotten photo album into  
her uncle's hands. Kurama broke his visual link  
with Maryoku to look at what had been given to  
him.   
  
It was a normal enough album, all in black  
fake leather and on the front cover were the  
words, 'Kitsuryuu's First Birthday' in gold print.   
The first picture Kurama turned to was of a silver  
blue fox sitting in front of what he could now  
recognize as the cave Hiei had been in. There was  
a caption under the photo that said, 'Kitsuryuu's  
first picture'. The photo directly underneath it  
was of the same fox, but this time she was rubbing  
at her eyes with her paw. It's caption said,  
'Kitsuryuu's first encounter with flash  
photography'.  
  
Kurama slowly turned each page and studied  
the pictures closely. They could have been  
pictures taken at any kids birthday party except  
for the fact that the birthday girl was actually a  
fox. There were balloons, a cake with a single  
candle in it, little paper hats on each of the  
kids and the fox, and a sign hanging off a tree  
with 'Happy Birthday Kitsuryuu' in big red print.   
  
Each of the kids must have taken turns taking  
pictures, because all of them could be seen in at  
least two or three of the photos. It was pretty  
obvious when Koori had the camera, all of those  
only showed people from the waist down. There was  
a very interesting picture of the birthday cake  
exploding and sending chocolate projectiles in all  
directions. The caption under that one was, 'Must  
teach Kitsuryuu the difference between blowing out  
the candle and blowing up the cake!'. Kurama  
actually caught himself smiling. It reminded him  
of Hiei's first birthday they had together. When  
he had told the fire demon to blow out the  
candles, Hiei had put his hand over the cake and  
turned them 'off'.   
  
Kurama continued to turn the pages. They  
were mostly pictures of the giving and receiving  
of presents, but he suddenly stopped when he spied  
one that was very different than the previous  
one's. This new photo had most of the kids in the  
shot, except for Maryoku and Koori. In the  
foreground, Mechiko was smashing a piece of ruined  
cake in Kiseki's face while the lavender haired  
boy was applying a liberal amount of chocolate  
icing to her hair. In the back ground, Kurama  
could just make out Arashi being pinned to the  
grass by a young lady with waist length red-black  
hair. She was threatening the boy with a handful  
of cake in one hand and holding him still with the  
other. Fuyu was between the set of wrestlers and  
was apparently trying to stop them.  
  
The girl had her back to the camera, so he  
couldn't see her face, but he could tell that she  
didn't have a fox's ears or a tail. He flipped  
through the last few pages quickly, looking for a  
better picture of the girl, but each of them only  
showed her back or a glimpse of a profile. He  
started to wonder if there were any good full  
frontal photos, until he turned the last page.  
  
That last picture was of Kitsuryuu sitting  
against the tree that had the banner and her name  
just above her head. She was sitting so that her  
left foot and ankle were under her and her other  
leg sticking out to the side. She was wearing  
Maryoku's school uniform jacket and apparently  
nothing else. The top few buttons of the black  
jacket were undone so that the collar was off her  
right shoulder. She had the hem of the jacket  
tightly clenched in her hands and was pulling it  
down so that it would cover the tops of her  
thighs.  
  
Kurama looked closely at her appearance and  
noticed that her hair was damp and that bits of  
her long hair were clinging to the bark of the  
tree above her head, as if she had slid down the  
trunk. She was giving the camera a coy smile that  
just barely tipped the corners of her mouth and  
her eyes were fixed on the photographer. Deep,  
warm, red eyes. Hiei's eyes.  
  
Kurama felt a little stunned at actually  
seeing the youko that had captured Hiei's  
attention so completely. For a moment he thought  
that maybe this 'Kitsuryuu' was playing some kind  
of game. Changing her appearance to suit Hiei.   
But this photo was taken months ago, if the date  
on the first page could be believed, and there was  
no way anyone could fake that color. He  
automatically read the caption that came with the  
picture. 'Maryoku's present' was written below it  
in a handwriting that was different than the rest.  
  
"What is this?" he asked Maryoku as the boy  
turned a brilliant shade of red.   
  
"That's Mechiko's idea of a joke," he  
stammered and tried to pull the album out of  
Kurama's hands.  
  
"No, not that. I thought she was a youko.   
Where are her ears and tail?" Kurama asked as he  
held on to the album, refusing to let Maryoku hide  
behind it.  
  
"She doesn't take youko form unless she's  
frightened..."  
  
"Or really pissed off," Arashi finished for  
Mechiko.  
  
"That was only that one time and she passed  
out almost immediately," Mechiko told him annoyed.  
  
"It was long enough to kick your butt," he  
said with a smirk.  
  
"Hey! I won that fight."  
  
"You only won the fight because you hit the  
ground last. You passed out before the fox did.   
If it hadn't been for the collar she would have  
finished you in a minute."  
  
"Hold on! Wait a minute," Yuusuke said as he  
pulled the two apart, "I want a full account of  
what has been going on since the beginning. I  
want details like: were did Kitsuryuu come from,  
when did you met her, how strong she is and how  
much 'training' you have been doing."   
  
"Wait. What kind of collar are you talking  
about?" Kurama asked with growing interest.  
  
A roar of thunder sounded and made the adults  
jump, but the children were so focused on the  
question he asked that they didn't notice. The  
rain started after the thunder and Kurama was  
surprised that so much time had passed since they  
had entered the dojo. Maryoku reached into his  
pocket and pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked  
the box and handed it to Kurama, still closed.   
  
Kurama looked at the boy's grim expression  
and slowly opened the box. He nearly dropped it  
in surprise when he saw the four leather wards  
inside. Each one was black with a series of  
interlocking triangles along its length. It was  
easy to see that they had been ripped off of the  
previous wearer, because that was the only way to  
remove wards like these.  
  
"Where is the other one?" he asked, worry  
evident in his voice.  
  
"Still around Kitsuryuu's neck," Maryoku  
answered, "Have you seen them before?"  
  
"A very long time ago, when I was younger  
than you are. I was working my way through the  
thief guild when I came across a youkai that had  
wards like these," Kurama picked up one from the  
box, there was a crackle of energy from the ward  
to his hand that he quickly dispelled.  
  
"This is the reason that we never knew that  
Kitsuryuu was around," Kurama said with a snarl as  
he threw the leather back in the box. "These  
wards were designed so that human priests could  
completely control youkai. I thought that they  
had stopped using them centuries ago."  
  
"Why would they stop using them if they  
worked so well?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
"They stopped using them because the wards  
don't stop youkai from having powers, the wards  
just repress the ability to control and use youki.   
They work by making the youkai use their power  
constantly by drawing it out of the body. They  
found out that the wards would deteriorate and  
finally break. The result was a extremely  
powerful youkai that had no clue as to how to use  
that power. They either self-destructed or went  
on killing rampages. Exactly how long has  
Kitsuryuu had these on her?"  
  
"She doesn't talk about it, but from what we  
have been able to figure out she was maybe five or  
six when she was captured by the human hunters,  
and we think that she's sixteen now. Do you think  
that she's in danger because of the collar?"  
Maryoku asked alarmed.  
  
"I don't know. I'd have to see her  
before...." Kurama didn't finish his statement as  
a very bedraggled and wet Hiei stumbled into the  
room.  
  
The fire demon was holding his left side and  
breathing heavily as he limped his way over to  
Mechiko and the infant she still held. Hiei  
almost savagely pulled Kyuukai from the girl and  
preceded to unwrap him from his blanket on the  
floor. No one thought to move as Hiei began to  
run his hands over his son's legs and arms, paying  
particular attention to the boy's left leg.   
  
Kurama came to Hiei's side and tried to stop  
him, but when he became aware of Kurama's  
presence, Hiei started to run his hands over him  
in the same manner. Kurama noticed that the fire  
demon's third eye was glowing red beneath the head  
band and the wet bangs that were plastered to it,  
while his natural ones were half closed. Kurama  
realized that Hiei was looking for a physical  
injury on one of the two people he loved.   
  
"Hiei, what's wrong? What do you see?"  
Kurama kept asking his lover, but Hiei didn't  
respond.   
  
Everybody was so captivated by Hiei's unusual  
behavior that they didn't see Koori enter the room  
until she was standing beside Hiei. She had a  
back pack that was stuffed to almost bursting on  
her shoulder and the sketch book Kurama had seen  
earlier. Koori pulled several items from her  
pocket and handed something to her uncle.  
  
"Kitsuryuu said to give you this and to say  
that she is sorry that she took it from you,"  
Koori said as she backed away from Hiei.  
  
Kurama couldn't see what she had given his  
lover, because Hiei was clutching it in both his  
hands. Kiseki went to his little sister and tried  
to place a hand on her shoulder. Koori jerked  
away from him and then narrowed her eyes.  
  
"You promised that she wouldn't go away!" she  
screamed at Kiseki and the boy drew back in alarm.   
  
"Koori, honey. What are you talking about?"  
Yukina coaxed.  
  
"Kitsuryuu is gone and she said she's not  
coming back, Momma. She even cried," Koori gave  
Yukina the rest of the objects she had pulled from  
her pocket. "Kitsuryuu never cries, Momma."  
  
Yukina gasped when she realized she held  
eight perfect tear gems in her hand. She knelt in  
front of her daughter and placed her other hand on  
her youngest daughter's shoulder.  
  
"Are you sure Kitsuryuu cried these?" she  
asked and Koori gave a nod and then crossed her  
arms in front of her chest, standing her ground.  
  
"Kazuma, come look at this," Yukina told her  
husband, holding her hand out for him to see.  
  
Kurama held Hiei loosely around the shoulders  
as he started to relax from the waking dream he  
seemed to be having. Kurama kept his attention  
divided between his lover and the Kuwabaras as  
they inspected whatever Koori had given Yukina.   
He wanted to get a better look at what had Yukina  
so interested, but with Hiei leaning so heavily on  
him he couldn't move.   
  
"But those can't be tear gems, Yukina. You  
said that only your family line has this trait,  
unless you had a kid you haven't told me about!"  
Kuwabara joked.  
  
Kurama felt ice enter his veins at his  
friend's teasing remark. His head started to spin  
as pieces of a puzzle he didn't even know he had  
begun started to come together. Kitsuryuu's deep  
red eyes that were so much like Hiei's. Sixteen  
years old, the age was right. Kurama looked down  
at Hiei and watched his lover finger the strange  
looking ornament in his hand. If Kitsuryuu was at  
least part Koorimei that would explain why Hiei  
hadn't run. Tear gems that only Hiei's line  
should be able to create. Kurama glanced at his  
son that was now a baby but had been a fox kit  
only a few short hours ago, something he shouldn't  
be able to do without his mother. He realized  
that Kyuukai was changing in accordance to his  
closest female relation, his sister. His sister,  
his and Hiei's daughter. Their forgotten child.  
=====  
end chapter 12 


	13. thirteen

The Forgotten Child   
Chapter 13  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
edited by Windlily  
  
Shuuichi strolled the halls of the hospital  
after visiting one of his young patients in  
intensive care. He hadn't been a hospital  
employee for quite a few years, and the only  
reason he was here now was because one of his  
patients had just had a tumor removed from the  
base of her spine. He had started his own  
practice about five years ago and had become a  
successful pediatrician with more patients than he  
could handle sometimes. Of course his most  
interesting patient was one that he didn't even  
bill, Urameshi Keiko.   
  
He had been one of the first people that the  
Urameshi's had consulted when Keiko had discovered  
she was pregnant again. They had asked him to  
monitor her pregnancy and to deliver the new baby,  
or babies. He had run his own tests to double  
check the results from the batteries of her first  
pregnancy and knew that he was on shaky ground.   
He just couldn't predict an accurate due date with  
only one pregnancy to go on. He had given his  
best guess, knowing that it would reassure Keiko  
and Yuusuke and was very relieved when Yuusuke had  
moved his family to live with the Kuwabara's.  
Yukina could use her powers to help Keiko when her  
time came and keep her stable until he got there.  
  
On the way to his car Shuuichi just happened  
to see an old friend's car parked in the first  
row. It was instantly recognizable since it was  
bright orange with florescent green flowers  
painted on the side. Akira was one of guys he had  
gone through medical school with and his car fit  
his personality, which was, in a word, weird.  
  
He debated whether to pay his old friend a  
visit or just head home, since Shiori was sure to  
be waiting for him. With a grin he threw his bag  
into the car and trotted over to the ER entrance  
where he knew Akira would be. His friend had opted  
for ER duty after his internship because he like  
the challenges and the constant drive to perform.   
Shuuichi entered the ER and was immediately spied  
by the hyperactive head physician.  
  
"Shuuichi, what the hell are you doing here?   
Don't you make enough money giving iron drops and  
lollipops to kids, or do you just miss the  
excitement?" Akira asked as he took Shuuichi's  
hand and shook it hard.  
  
"I don't play being one of the gods as well  
as you do, Akira. I'll take a screaming kid over  
a dying patient any day."  
  
"Speaking of screaming kids, when is Shiori  
going to fix you up with a nice little girl so  
that she can have some grandchildren?" Akira  
teased with a smile.  
  
"Don't give her any ideas, or I won't invite  
you over for dinner ever again."  
  
Akira put his hand over his heart like he had  
been shot and gasped, "Don't even tease like that,  
man! Your mother could probably unite the  
countries of the world with her cooking. By the  
way, what are you having tonight?" he asked with a  
wink.  
  
"Your favorite," Shuuichi answered with a  
grin and a wink of his own, "Your welcome to come  
if you like. I'm sure she'll love to see you."  
  
"Good. It's a date. I'm off shift...  
  
"Team 9 en route, we've got a female,  
multiple fractures, the worst a compound fracture  
of the left femur with heavy bleeding and possible  
sever head trauma," the radio at the nurses'  
station blared suddenly.  
  
"... sometime tomorrow," Akira finished  
grumpily.  
  
Shuuichi only smiled in response and followed  
as his friend jogged over to the station to get  
the full report from the EMT crew.  
  
"Heart rate in the 90's and blood pressure is  
85 over 45. Age, late teens to early twenties  
of... uh... undetermined race. Patient is  
unresponsive to verbal or physical stimuli.   
Allergies/meds unknown. Fracture has been  
stabilized with a SAM splint with an ace over a  
five by nine pressure dressing. We've started a  
KVO normal saline solution IV using a 18 gauge  
catheter in the right antecubital. ETA two  
minutes."  
  
"All right. I want station 4 cleared and  
prepped, and I want three units of O negative on  
stand-by. I want her typed and cross matched as  
soon as she comes through that door. You're going  
to have to excuse me Shuuichi," his friend said as  
he raced with the nurses down the hall toward  
station 4.  
  
The two minute wait seemed more like seconds  
to Shuuichi. He watched his friend take immediate  
charge when the unconscious girl was wheeled into  
the station.  
  
"Miss! Miss! Can you hear me?" Akira said  
as he forced her left eyelid open and shined his  
pen light into her eye.   
  
The girl reacted by trying to turn her head  
away from the light, but Akira held on to her chin  
firmly so that he could look in the other eye.  
  
"PEERL normal at 3 millimeters," Akira  
announced and put the pin light back in his  
pocket, "Shuuichi, come take a look at her eyes.   
I've never seen anything like this."  
  
Shuuichi made his way between the nurses,  
feeling like he was in the way as they buzzed  
around him. She suddenly opened her eyes and  
looked directly at him as he put his hand on her  
cheek to hold her head still. In all his life he  
had never seen someone so completely taken by fear  
as this girl lying in front of him now. She  
looked up at him with such terror that he almost  
didn't notice the color of her eyes. Deep red  
eyes, like a certain fire demon he knew.  
  
"Blood pressure 95 over 66, pulse in the 90's  
and respiration, 24," one of the nurses informed  
the head physician, but Shuuichi couldn't break  
away from the patient's stare.  
  
"Miss! Do you know where you are, Miss?   
Miss, can you tell me your name?" Akira kept  
asking the girl, but she never broke her eye  
contact with Shuuichi.  
  
He reached out his hand and placed it over  
hers. Her eyelids drifted back shut out of a  
combination of blood loss and pure exhaustion.  
  
"Doctor, the blood typing came back  
negative," a large nurse to Shuuichi's left said  
as she handed Akira a paper.  
  
"What the hell do you mean it came back  
negative?" he practically yelled as he grabbed the  
paper from her.  
  
"The type and cross match doesn't fit any  
know blood type on record."  
  
"That's impossible!" he yelled as he absently  
thrust the blood test results at Shuuichi, wanting  
his opinion. "I want them run again,  
immediately."  
  
The nurse quickly drew another blood sample  
as Akira continued to give orders.  
  
"OK, until the real type cross comes in, I  
want Central Venous Pressure Monitoring and 500 cc  
of Dexteran 40 and infuse remaining dose slowly to  
keep her going."  
  
Shuuichi looked at the test results and the  
eerie feeling that started when he had looked into  
the girl's eyes grew stronger and more persistent.  
The nurse said that the blood typing didn't fit  
any blood type *on record*, but he had seen a  
blood type with these levels before, in youkai.   
Shuuichi knew that they would never get a clear  
result, no matter how many times they tried to  
type and cross match the girl.  
  
He looked back at the girl laying prone on  
the stretcher. Her arm was obviously broken and  
laid at an odd angle to the rest of her body. The  
leg pinned between the white boards of the splint  
was the major concern of the moment. The splint  
was smeared red with her blood despite the EMTs  
effort to apply pressure to the wound. The heavy  
blood loss was evident in her much too pale face.   
If the girl was a youkai, what was she doing here?   
  
Shuuichi studied the equipment monitoring her  
vital signs and saw that the Dexteran was keeping  
what blood she had left circulating, but her heart  
rate was up and her pressure was going down. She  
was losing blood, a lot of blood, with every beat  
of her heart and the Dexteran wasn't going to hold  
forever.   
  
Shuuichi moved aside as one of the nurses  
tried to apply more pressure to the wound on the  
girl's leg. He left station 4 and hurried out  
into the hall where there was less noise as he  
pulled out his cellular phone. He dialed his  
brother's number and let the phone ring as he  
remembered the first time he had been introduced  
to a youkai.  
  
He had come home late that night from his  
internship and was dead on his feet as he walked  
through the front door. He still lived with  
Shiori in the same house they had moved into when  
his father married that wonderful woman. He loved  
Shiori like she was his own mother and even though  
he could have moved out a long time ago, he  
preferred to have a smiling face when he came  
home, plus it let his brother move out without too  
much guilt.  
  
On that strange night that so many secrets  
were revealed, he had sat down on the couch with  
Shiori and was telling her about the day's events  
when there had been the sound of shattering glass  
upstairs. He had tried to get Shiori to stay  
downstairs until he had a chance to check it out,  
but she had followed him anyway.  
  
Shuuichi had checked each of the rooms and  
when he came to his older brother's old room he  
saw that the window had been smashed in. He had  
walked to the opening to see if a branch from the  
tree outside had fallen when a small figure had  
stepped out of the shadowed corner. It had  
stumbled, mumbled the name 'Kurama' and passed out  
into his arms.  
  
Shuuichi hadn't known what to think so he had  
picked what he had thought was a young boy up and  
placed him on the bed. Shiori had moved closer to  
them and recognized the young man. She had told  
him that he was one of his brother's friends that  
had come to visit once, named Hiei.  
  
Shuuichi quickly took the scarf from around  
Hiei's neck and the draping covering from his  
shoulders. His hands had came away wet with blood  
and he looked his new patient over for the  
obviously heavily bleeding wound. He found an  
ornately decorated dagger protruding from his  
stomach. Hiei's left hand had been gripping it  
tightly, weakly pulling at it.  
  
"Cursed dagger, Kurama," the bleeding man had  
rasped as he grabbed a hold of Shuuichi's sleeve,  
"Only a human can take it out."  
  
Shuuichi hadn't had the foggiest idea who  
'Kurama' was or what curses and humans had to do  
with the dagger in Hiei's belly, but he looked  
into his glazed red eyes and had known that he  
needed help.  
  
"Stay with him mother while I call an  
ambulance," he had said as he turned to leave, but  
before he could Hiei arched his back and screamed.  
  
Shuuichi had tried to hold him down, but Hiei  
had struggled with a strength that belied his  
small frame. Shiori came to his aid and held the  
young man's right arm down to the mattress.   
Suddenly Hiei had tensed and his whole body grew  
as tight as a bow string. Shiori had given a yelp  
of pain and jerked her hands away. Hiei's arm had  
literally caught fire and had burned her with the  
strange black heat that encircled it. Both of  
them had stepped back as Hiei continued his  
thrashing, moaning and then screaming the name  
'Kurama'. Finally Shiori had enough and went to  
the person on the bed that they now knew wasn't  
human at all.  
  
"Shh... be still. You'll only make it  
worse," Shiori had cooed to Hiei as she stroked  
his sweat dampened hair.  
  
Shuuichi had been too stunned to move as he  
watched Shiori coddle the demon that had left  
angry red burns on her hands. After a few minutes  
of gentle whispers of motherly nonsense the young  
man on the bed calmed and then had laid still.   
  
Between the two of them they had pulled the  
dagger from him. It evaporated as soon as it had  
left his body, reinforcing that this young man was  
much more than he appeared. He had stitched and  
dressed the wound and within a few hours Hiei had  
started to complain about being in bed, even  
though he had been delirious enough to not be able  
to recognize who was around him. Shiori had  
patiently, if not forcibly, kept him down.   
  
Over the next two days Shiori had questioned  
the demon and said that she found him prideful,  
arrogant, and stubborn. On the outside. On the  
inside she had seen a man that had never really  
been a boy. A man that had grown up believing  
that he could only rely on himself. A man that  
was in love with her son, and seemed to have a  
*very* personal relationship with him.   
  
The only thing that made the whole experience  
almost worth it after being cursed at, yelled at,  
hit with a pillow, glared at and having to watch  
Shiori hover over the rude little beast like a  
guardian angel, was the look on his brother's face  
when he saw his lover having dinner with them.   
Shiori had calmly turned to her son and simply  
said that they had a *lot* to talk about.   
  
Shuuichi jabbed the disconnect button on his  
cellular phone with disgust. Kurama's cellular  
was for emergencies only and very few people had  
the number, but he wasn't answering. Shuuichi  
dialed his brother's apartment and started to  
really worry when he couldn't get an answer there  
either. In desperation he dialed his home phone  
and waited for Shiori to answer.  
  
"Hello?"   
  
"Mother, do you know where *Kurama* is? One  
of his *old* friends is paying the hospital a  
visit and I really need to talk to him," he said  
with as much emphasis as he could without alarming  
the woman at the other end of the line.  
  
"The last I knew, he said that he and Hiei  
were going to Yukina's to visit. Let me get the  
number. What's going on? Are you all right?" she  
asked worriedly.  
  
Shuuichi could hear her flipping pages as she  
talked. He looked at his watch and discovered  
that a full ten minutes had passed since he had  
left the ER.   
  
"I'm fine, Mother, but there's this girl here  
that was brought in from the mountain area. She's  
hurt badly and I don't think that...." Shuuichi  
stopped in mid sentence with true fear.  
  
It had been ten minutes since Akira had  
administered the Dexteran. The second blood  
results would have been back by now, and he knew  
that they would have come back negative also. If  
he knew Akira, saving that girl's life was more  
important than following the rules. If he thought  
she was going to die of blood loss, then he would  
administer her a full transfusion, test results be  
damned. A transfusion of human blood directly  
into a youkai.  
  
"Mother, get a hold of Kurama and tell him to  
get to the hospital as fast as he can," he told  
her as he started to run down the hall, back to  
the ER.  
  
"Ok Shuuichi, but tell me what's going on,"  
she demanded, worry evident in her soft voice.  
  
"No time. Just make sure Kurama gets here,"  
he said as he disconnected the line.  
  
He didn't know what he was going to say to  
Akira to keep him from giving the youkai blood,  
but he was aware of the results if he didn't.   
After his brother had confessed to being a youko  
and having Hiei as a lover, he had given both  
himself a Shiori a crash course on youkais. One  
of the carnal rules was to never let a youkai  
drink human blood if it could be helped. He had  
been told that the effects could be as varied as  
euphoria to an ultra increase in power, depending  
on the species of youkai that drank the blood.   
Shuuichi wasn't sure if a direct infusion of blood  
would have the same effects as drinking it would,  
but he didn't want to find out.  
  
He turned the corner in time to see some of  
the nurses leave station 4. He pulled the privacy  
curtain aside and saw Akira slowly unwrap the ace  
bandage from the girl's leg. He looked around the  
room and saw that his friend had done as he had  
expected. There where two empty bags of blood  
next to the full one that was being fed through  
the IV. A pressure cuff was wrapped around the  
units of blood so that the blood would be  
administer at the fastest rate possible. He  
watched the girl for any movement, but besides the  
color returning to her cheeks there was no change.  
  
"Hey man, I was wondering were you ran off  
to," Akira said with a smile, then nodded over at  
the girl, "I really thought we were going to lose  
her, but after I got the blood in her all her  
signs went back to normal."  
  
Shuuichi didn't answer as he continued to  
stare at the young lady in the bed. Maybe he was  
wrong, maybe she was just a normal girl with weird  
eyes and abnormal blood.  
  
"By the gods, what the fuck is going on!"  
Akira gasped at he stepped back from the bed.  
  
Shuuichi looked over at his friend and saw  
what had caused his reaction. Akira had pulled  
away the pressure dressing so that he could repair  
the compound fracture underneath, but the wound  
was healing itself. The skin was stretching just  
enough so that the bone could be pulled back into  
the flesh it had previously ripped though.   
Shuuichi felt his stomach turn as he watched the  
girl's oddly bent left arm straighten and then  
make a grinding noise as the edges of the bone  
fitted back together. The rise and fall of her  
breathing became less labored and faster as each  
of her ribs fused back into place.  
  
There was only one nurse in the room with  
them and she made the sign of the cross over her  
chest as she slid down the wall onto the floor,  
blabbing incoherently. Suddenly there was a noise  
in the room, like thunder rolling in the distance  
and rapidly coming closer. As the noise grew in  
volume, the girl spasmed and grabbed the metal  
side rail of the stretcher with a white knuckled  
grip. The noise got louder and louder and the bar  
under the youkai's hand started to melt. When she  
opened her eyes, there were no warm red irises to  
greet the light, just a blank, white nothingness  
that stared off into the corner of the room.   
  
Shuuichi grabbed the nurse by the arm and  
forced her to her feet as he took hold of Akira's  
jacket with the other. He forced both of them out  
of the room, but just before he went though the  
doorway he looked back. The youkai was now  
surrounded by a intense red glow that hurt his  
eyes to look at. He was trapped at the door,  
mesmerized by the spectacle he was seeing.  
  
The aura around the girl wavered a bit and  
then started to take shape. Before his very eyes  
he saw a fox shaped out of fire form and stand  
over the girl as if it was protecting her. The  
fox lifted it's head and joined it's voice to the  
noise of raging thunder with a howl of it's own.   
Shuuichi felt the floor shake beneath his feet and  
knew that he had to get out of there fast.  
  
He turned and ran for the nurses' station  
dragging his two gaping companions with him, then  
dove behind the counter . The room he had just  
left emitted such a bright light that the entire  
ER was cast in a deep red glow. He could hear  
screams of terror as the quaking became noticeable  
in the rest of the ER, and then station 4 exploded  
in a fiery ball of heat.   
  
The screams of the other people in the room  
filled Shuuichi's ears along with the sound of the  
building around him crumbling. A nurse ran passed  
where he sat, her white uniform engulfed in  
flames. He rushed to help her put out the  
unnatural crimson fire with his own coat. Once  
she was no longer in danger, she passed out on the  
floor from the fright. A large section of the  
roof above him came loose from the walls and fell  
on top of them.   
  
Shuuichi was pinned under the impossible  
weight, struggling to get his legs free when the  
flames and the smoke parted to allow their  
mistress to walk through. The girl that had been  
so close to dying a few minutes ago limped heavily  
on her left leg towards him, her eyes still blank  
and lifeless.  
  
The fire around her licked at her legs and  
hips, but she gave no indication that she felt  
them as she continued onward. Her black hair  
reflected every flicker of the light, making it a  
deep red curtain that fell to her waist. Beside  
her trotted the same fox made of fire that had  
stood over her. It brushed against her leg and  
she reached her hand down to stroke it's head.   
The fox craned it's head upward to her hand and  
then turned into pure crimson fire that curled  
around her wrist and arm like a snake before it  
traveled up to disappear into her hair.  
  
From the nurses' station, Shuuichi heard a  
cry of fear and rage as Akira came at the female  
youkai with a piece of steel from the collapsed  
wall. Her eyes narrowed almost inperciveablely as  
the bottom of the flames changed to a eerie silver  
blue and then traveled up the tongues of fire.   
From base to each pointed tip, the fire around her  
was froze into jagged crystalline shapes.   
  
A mist formed around the youkai and swallowed  
her inside it's thick depths. Akira slowed in his  
steps, since the object of his fury was no longer  
visible. Suddenly something shot out of the fog  
and hit Akira square in the chest, sending him  
flying into the wall. When he impacted, the object  
attached to the center of his breast released  
dozens of ice vines that whipped out to lace into  
the cracked surface of the wall. Akira hung there  
in the cage of ice brambles still holding the  
impromptu weapon in his hand.   
  
The mist slowly inched it's way over to were  
Shuuichi's friend was pinned and then parted to  
reveal a transformed youkai. Almost absurdly  
dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, the youkai  
stepped toward Akira with her taloned hand  
outstretched. Her hair had changed in color to an  
icy blue that fit the frozen flames at her feet  
that broke like dried twigs under her tread. She  
was taller than she was before, but her eyes were  
still empty and emotionless.   
  
Her hand lunged out and grabbed the steel in  
Akira's slacking grip. She pulled it away as the  
vines that surrounded him wrapped themselves  
around his wrist to yank him tighter back against  
the wall. She looked at the pitiful weapon in her  
hand and then at the man bound to the wall. She  
pushed his head up with her free hand and then  
showed him the steel. From her hand came a blue  
light that engulfed the object and then  
disappeared to show that the weapon was now frozen  
solid. Shuuichi noticed that there was a collar  
around her neck that glowed with white hot  
brilliance as she did this. With a squeeze of her  
hand, the youkai shattered the steel inches from  
Akira's face.  
  
Shuuichi's friend passed out and the girl let  
go of his head. Shuuichi watched as she turned  
away from Akira and walked toward him again. He  
thought that she was going to pass by, but then  
she stopped right beside him and looked down into  
his face. She lifted her hand toward him and he  
knew that he was her next target.  
  
==============  
  
Kat 


	14. fourteen

The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 14  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
edited by Windlily  
  
  
Hiei let his mind wander as he floated in a  
place that was between consciousness and sleep.   
He could sense that somewhere close by Kyuukai was  
also shifting between being awake and asleep,  
dreaming whatever kind of dreams an infant had.   
Kyuukai would be wanting to eat again in ten  
minutes, twenty seconds, and Hiei told himself  
that Kurama could handle it. Kurama could handle  
anything, unlike himself who had royally screwed  
up with Kurama's first child and had almost done  
the same thing again to Kyuukai.  
  
What had possessed him to want to have  
another child in the first place? It wasn't like  
it was something he spent a lot of time thinking  
about on a regular basis. The only catalyst Hiei  
could think of was Keiko's recent pregnancy and  
the stir it caused. Kurama and Shiori had spent  
an inordinate amount of time in the last few weeks  
discussing the unborn infant. Shiori always said   
how nice it would have been for 'Shuuichi' to have  
a son that looked just like him. Hiei gave a half  
grunt, half sigh. He'd even screwed that up.  
  
Hiei buried himself deeper in the covers and  
decided to go back to sleep. This last nap had  
almost made him feel normal again and with a few  
more hours rest he'd be completely recovered from  
Kyuukai's birth. Hiei felt his consciousness slip  
lower and deeper into sleep and dreaming when the  
first vision entered his mind.  
  
He was running faster than he'd ever run  
before through the woods feeling the wind on his  
face and smelling the cool of the trees. He  
jumped and twisted in the air to snap at a leaf  
that was falling from the trees overhead. He  
heard a rabbit he startled scamper away and  
wondered if he should give chase. Hiei thought  
that it was strange that he was so close to the  
ground and snapping at leaves, but the image  
melted before he could find out why.   
  
He squirmed on the filthy straw that served  
as his bed, finding it almost impossible to breath  
in the hot, suffocating tightness of the tiny  
room. There were no windows, and no light to  
illuminate the cramped area and the rats that he  
could hear squeaking. Someone opened a door and  
instantly his hands and feet were anchored to the  
floor by an unseen force. A human in priests  
robes leered at him as he showed Hiei a knife and  
then used it to cut through the ultra sensitive  
ears at the top of his head. He wanted to cradle  
his bleeding head as the priest moved away, but he  
was unable to move. Suddenly agony exploded up his  
spine. Hiei could see a human triumphantly hold  
up his bloody hatchet in one hand and a delicate  
ice blue tail in the other out of the corner of  
his eye.  
  
Hiei was grateful when the dream shifted  
again to show him a bright green and purple fire  
burning in a cave. He reached his hand out to  
touch the fire, but instead of his fingers coming  
into view, a silver blue paw touched the flames.   
Hiei continued to be puzzled until he turned and  
saw himself laying on the cave floor writhing in  
misery.  
  
Hiei tried to focus on what was happening  
around him, tried to slow down and stop the flood  
of images hoping to find a clue as to who's  
memories he was sharing. It was useless. All he  
could do was watch.  
  
The next few images went by so fast that he  
barely had time to recognize the things around him  
before they shifted into something else. He saw  
Maryoku take a swing at him with a glowing fist.   
He saw Koori sleeping next to a crimson fire. He  
saw Kurama give his son to Keiko to hold. He saw  
Koori's startled face as she looked at the  
twinkling gems in her hands. Then it all stopped  
and his mind vision was blank.  
  
He waited in the void of his own subconscious  
for something to happen. It seemed like an  
eternity before something did. A pin-point of  
light appeared somewhere in the immeasurable  
distance ahead of him and drew him hypnotically  
closer. Soon he was standing at an opening  
chiseled into the stone wall he had placed around  
his own memories. Memories that he had long ago  
locked away, memories that he wanted to forget.   
He struggled uselessly against the force of his  
soul as it dragged him forwards, making him look  
inside.  
  
He saw a figure of himself watching a dying  
fire of the same purple and green flames that had  
been in the other vision. The flames finally went  
out and in the blackened pit it had created was a  
tiny, blue-silver fox kit curled tightly into a  
fluffy ball. It's little ears were laid almost  
flat against it's head and it's short stubby  
muzzle made the baby fox look more like a puppy.  
Hiei watched himself crawl toward the kit and then  
stop, confusion and uncertainty etched into his  
features about where to go. The memory Hiei  
stumbled to his feet and shakily walked to the  
entrance of the cave. The kit made a sharp yipe  
and whined pitifully for the man at the cave  
entrance to come back, but he didn't. Without  
looking back he left the newborn kit to the fates.  
  
Hiei wanted to wake up, to get away from what  
he was seeing, but he was stuck and unable to even  
look away. The fox kit continued to whimper and  
tried to move it's body around, but like Kyuukai,  
it was too young and too awkward to get anywhere.   
Hiei found himself reaching out towards the infant  
but his hands hit a surface as clear as glass but  
much stronger. As he banged his fist against the  
barrier the kit lifted it's head and turned  
towards him. Tiny eyes opened for the first time  
and looked at him with a clarity that shouldn't  
have been possible for something so young. Warm,  
red eyes, his eyes, stared at him without censure  
or hate, only with longing and forgiveness, and it  
was more than he could take.  
  
Hiei turned from the opening in his memories  
and tried desperately to awaken, but all he could  
see were those red eyes forgiving him. The eyes  
that tried to release him from the guilt and  
self-loathing that he had held onto for so long.   
Those feeling were so much a part of him now that  
Hiei didn't know if he knew how to feel anything  
else when he thought about his first born child.   
  
An image of Kyuukai swept across his vision,  
and he wanted to turn away. He wanted to distance  
himself from the boy and the sorrow Kurama's son  
would feel when he realized what his other father  
was. It wasn't fair to subject Kyuukai's innocent  
soul to the blackness of his own. The image of  
Kyuukai melted away and he saw the youkai female  
leaning over him helping him when he was in the  
throws of pain, her red eyes filled with worry.   
  
That scene vanished and was replaced with the  
girl forcibly handing him Kyuukai, laughter in her  
red eyes. Kurama's laughter in replicas of his  
eyes he realized, and then he knew what his  
subconscious had been trying to tell him. That  
girl wasn't just some youkai that had come to the  
Makai on a whim, but his own daughter. She was  
the child he had thought was dead and lost to him  
forever.  
  
Hiei would have described the feeling that  
entered his heart as 'giddy with elation', but  
fire demons didn't have emotions like that, so he  
was happy instead. His subconscious mind finally  
let go now that its message had been received, and  
Hiei slowly started to wake. He tried to reach  
out and sense for his firstborn before he was  
fully awake and was stuck by a force that sent  
pain though every part of his body.  
  
Hiei was familiar with the feeling of  
breaking bones and splitting flesh, but it had  
been a while since he'd felt them. Since he'd  
became S-class he was one that was doing most of  
the breaking, not the one being broken. He felt  
his chest constrict with pain and found it almost  
impossible to breath. There was an ache in his  
left arm, but it was secondary to the intense  
agony of his left leg.  
  
He looked down at his body, but there were no  
marks on his skin. He could feel blood flowing out  
of his body and smell it in the air, but he could  
see none of it. That's when he realized the  
mistake he had made. He had used his Jagan when  
he was not fully awake to control it and it had  
found someone else's pain.   
  
Hiei tried to remember who the last person  
was that he had been thinking about when he had  
started to wake, but the pain was making it  
impossible. He stumbled out of bed, holding his  
left arm and limping heavily on his leg. He had  
been thinking about the baby, he realized, and  
fear chilled his blood. He quickly made his way  
to the dojo, ignoring the rain that seemed to  
frame every disaster in his life.  
  
His world narrowed to focus on Kyuukai as he  
searched his son out. Hiei took him from the  
person holding him, not caring who it was and  
started to look the infant over. He couldn't find  
anything wrong with Kyuukai, not in his arm or his  
leg, but he kept looking. Hiei felt strong hands  
try and hold him still and he became angry at the  
intrusion until he realized it was Kurama. He  
turned his attention to his lover, now convinced  
that it must be Kurama that was injured, but still  
he found nothing.  
  
Hiei sat on the cool dojo floor trying to  
shake the pain from his body. He tried to  
remember what he had been thinking about when the  
pain had started. He sat there dazed and barely  
recognized Koori when she handed him the strange  
bracelet. He started to stroke the silken stands  
that surrounded the tear gem with the pad of his  
thumb as his Jagan released the control it had  
attained over his body.  
  
Hiei began to think clearer and he realized  
that he had been thinking about a child, but not  
Kyuukai. He had been thinking about his first  
born, the one that he never named. He looked at  
the red-black stands of her hair in his hand and  
remembered the name Koori had given him.   
Kitsuryuu, a strange combination of fox and  
dragon. An appropriate name for their not so  
little girl.  
  
Suddenly Kyuukai cried his displeasure at not  
being fed on time, and it seemed to trigger an  
explosion of chaos. Everybody started talking at  
once. The kids were asking Koori when Kitsuryuu  
left, Kuwabara wanted to know exactly where his  
youngest daughter had been and Yuusuke still  
wanted information on how strong Kitsuryuu was now  
that she was more of a threat than before.  
  
Hiei was still trying to take in all the  
extraneous information that was being thrown  
around as he watched Kurama sit there in a worst  
state of confusion than himself. His lover looked  
as though his whole world had been turned upside  
down and inside out. Hiei felt some sympathy for  
Kurama and wondered how he'd react when he told  
him he had become a father again in less than 24  
hours.  
  
The group of squabbling individuals that  
thought that all they had to do was scream louder  
than the person next to them to be heard were  
abruptly silenced by the sound of a crashing gong.   
All eyes turned to Keiko and the huge gong she  
held in her hand, a gong that Hiei didn't even  
know the Kuwabara's had. The only sound in the  
room was Kyuukai's crying.  
  
"I think that it would be wise if we took  
turns asking questions," Keiko suggested.  
  
The group started their arguing again, and  
the gong sounded louder than the first time Keiko  
stuck it.  
  
"Taking turns means, ONE AT A TIME!" she  
clarified.  
  
"Wouldn't it be best if we went to the house?   
Kyuukai isn't going to stop crying until he's fed  
and none of us have had dinner yet," Yukina  
suggested.  
  
"We have a possibly dangerous youko running  
around, and she wants us to eat dinner," Yuusuke  
grumbled low under his breath, but not low enough.  
  
Keiko grabbed a hold of Yuusuke's ear and  
gave it a vicious pull that made her husband bend  
closer to her to relieve the pain.  
  
"*I* think that's a wonderful idea, Yuusuke,"  
Keiko hissed in his ear, "Don't *you* think it's a  
wonderful idea, Yuusuke?"  
  
"Ow, yes, YES! Wonderful idea! Best thing  
I've heard all week!," he agreed wholeheartedly.  
"Can I have my ear back now?" Yuusuke pleaded.  
  
Keiko released her husband with a smile and  
then linked her arm with his. Kuwabara's chuckle  
was silenced by Yuusuke's glare and everybody  
followed the arm-in-arm couple to the house.  
  
======  
  
"Father!" Mechiko whined next to Yuusuke,  
"It's not like Kitsuryuu is going to head straight  
for a city and start stomping on it!"  
  
"Mechiko, I know she's your friend, but if  
she's in the Ningenkai then we need to know  
exactly where all the time."  
  
Kurama listened to the rehashed argument as  
he tried unsuccessfully to comfort his son. Five  
minutes ago, after Kyuukai had been fed and had  
gone back to sleep, the infant started to whine  
and then woke up screaming. Despite all their  
efforts, including Hiei's, Kyuukai could not be  
comforted.  
  
Dinner had been simple and quickly finished  
so that the discussion that had started in the  
dojo could be continued. Kurama watched Hiei sit  
in the window watching the sheets of rain come  
down. He wished that he could get his lover alone  
so that he could tell him about their daughter,  
but so far the opportunity had not presented  
itself.  
  
The telephone rang shrilly in the hallway and  
it made Kyuukai cry even louder. Maryoku offered  
to go answer it and Kurama walked down hall to his  
temporary room so that Kyuukai's crying wouldn't  
disturb the boy. Kurama paced in the room holding  
his son close, hoping that whatever was wrong with  
him would pass as he thought about Kitsuryuu.  
  
Kurama had found out during the much quieter  
discussion over dinner that his daughter had been  
living on this mountain for many years before  
Koori found her. He had no doubt that the  
combination of the wards and Kitsuryuu staying in  
kitsune form, which was lower in power, were the  
reasons they never knew that she was so close.   
  
Kurama walked to the window and looked out at  
the forest that surrounded the house. His  
daughter had been out there all this time and no  
one knew. How many times had they crossed paths  
and never knew she was there? How many picnics  
and outings had he taken the kids on that  
Kitsuryuu was close enough to see them, for him to  
see her, if he had only looked?   
  
Kurama tried not to think of what might have  
been, and focused on today and the future. The  
past was gone and no matter how much he might wish  
for it to be different, he couldn't change what  
had happened. He looked down at his son that  
continued to scream in distress and knew that he  
could never comfort Kitsuryuu like this. She was  
a grown woman now and didn't need a father to take  
care of her and raise her.  
  
For the next few minutes Kurama just walked  
with his son, talking to him, trying to calm him.   
He continued to pace until Kyuukai went still and  
silent in his arms. The infant didn't move,  
didn't hic-up, didn't make a noise. He just laid  
there in his soft blanket like a stone. A very  
HOT stone Kurama realized as he fought the urge to  
drop him as he placed Kyuukai on the bed and  
looked at his burned hands.  
  
The fuzzy white baby's blanket burned away in  
a dark green swirl of flames to reveal Kurama's  
changed son. Kyuukai was tucked in the fetal  
position with his arms wrapped around his bent  
knees and his face cradled in his bent arms.   
Kurama looked at his son's blood red ears that  
were tipped in black, then all the way down his  
small spine to his bright red tail that was tuck  
between his crossed legs. Kurama could see the  
black tip of Kyuukai's tail where it reappeared  
over his son's shoulder.   
  
"HIEI!" Kurama yelled, hoping his lover would  
get there before Kyuukai set the bedding on fire.  
  
The deep green flames had disappeared but the  
sheets under Kurama's son were smoldering and  
threatening to combust any minute. Hiei skidded  
into the room and for the first time in the years  
Kurama had know this fire demon he saw real fear  
in Hiei's eyes. Kurama didn't have to say  
anything to his lover, because Hiei had already  
assessed the situation and picked Kyuukai up from  
the bed.  
  
"I thought he wouldn't change anymore,  
Kurama," Hiei stated as he looked his son over in  
the same way he had done in the dojo earlier.  
  
"He will shift shapes as long as Kitsuryuu  
keeps shifting her own," Kurama said calmly as  
his heart leapt in his throat waiting for Hiei's  
response.  
  
The kids had told him the Kitsuryuu only took  
on youko form when she was mad or very scared.  
Kurama wondered which emotion his daughter was  
feeling right now. He knew that in either case it  
wasn't good. He looked over at Hiei and caught  
the hint of a grin on his lover's face.  
  
"He knew about his sister as soon as he was  
born, didn't he, Kurama?" Hiei asked rhetorically  
and his slight grin turned into a frown.  
  
"Why don't you answer that damn noise maker  
before it starts Kyuukai crying again?"  
  
Kurama was standing there stunned that Hiei  
apparently knew that Kitsuryuu was their daughter  
and suddenly realized that his cellular phone was  
ringing faintly under his coat in the corner of  
the room. He pulled his jacket aside and placed  
the phone to his ear.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Shuuichi! Where have you been?! I've been  
trying to call you forever," Shiori exclaimed over  
the line with more that just a hint of panic in  
her voice.  
  
Kurama was instantly alarmed at his mother's  
tone. His normally quiet and calm mother sounded  
frantic, scared and worried all at the same time.  
  
"Mother, calm down and tell me what's wrong.   
Are you all right?" he asked as Hiei looked  
intently over at him.  
  
"I'm fine, Shuuichi. It's your brother that  
I'm worried about. Oh, Shuuichi, I'm so scared  
something has happened to him. Have you been  
watching the news?" Shiori asked.  
  
Kurama walked over to Hiei who now had  
Kyuukai held tightly to his bare chest. He had to  
remove his shirt so that the heat their son was  
generating wouldn't burn the material. Kurama  
indicated to Hiei that he was to follow him as he  
walked out into the hall.  
  
"Mother, what is going on? What happened to  
Shuuichi?"  
  
"He called me saying that you need to go to  
the hospital as soon as you can, but Shuuichi, I  
called your apartment, I called your work, I  
called your cellular, and I called Yukina's. I  
finally got Yuusuke's son , but he just dropped  
the phone when I told him," Shiori told Kurama,  
becoming more frantic with each breath.  
  
Kurama stopped at the phone in the hall and  
glanced at the receiver that was hanging from its  
cord. He picked it up and placed it back on the  
cradle before continuing on to the living room,  
Hiei close behind.  
  
"Mother, you need to calm down and tell me  
exactly what is going on," he told Shiori as he  
stopped in front of the television.   
  
Kurama ignored the questioning looks of the  
rest of the household as he changed the channel  
from the anime everyone was watching to the news  
station. The scene on the screen was of the  
hospital Kurama knew his brother sent all his  
patients to for surgery halfway crumbled to the  
ground and smoldering.  
  
"Earlier this evening an apparent gas  
explosion rocked this hospital to its knees," the  
newscaster said as the camera paned over all of  
the ruined building. "There is no word as of yet  
if there are any fatalities, but at last count  
there were twenty patients and five hospital staff  
unaccounted for. The authorities are uncertain as  
to how the explosion may have occurred, but  
sources say that a witness has come forward  
claiming that a girl seen fleeing the scene just  
after the disaster was the one to start the fire  
that caused the explosion. The police are looking  
for her."  
  
"Shuuichi, your brother said that one of your  
old friends had come to visit the hospital, a  
young lady. I think he means a youkai and now the  
hospital has almost been destroyed and I can't  
contact him and the police won't give out any  
information. What's going on, Shuuichi?"  
  
Kurama reached over and turned the sound all  
the way down on the television. Yuusuke, Kuwabara  
and Hiei looked to him to confirm the suspicions  
they already had. The kids started looking at  
each other, they were also worried that they knew  
what was going on.  
  
"I don't know for sure what's going on yet,  
Mother, but as soon as I get some answers I'll let  
you know, all right?" Kurama asked Shiori and got  
a mumbled agreement before he disconnected the  
line.  
  
"It's Kitsuryuu, isn't it?" Yuusuke asked.  
  
"Yeah, I think so. Shuuichi called my mother  
and told her that a girl came to the hospital, and  
that he wanted me to get there. She hasn't heard  
any more from him since," Kurama told him as he  
watched the silent TV scene and the rescue effort  
being made of pull people from the rubble.  
  
"She said that Maryoku answered the phone and  
then just left her hanging. I found the phone off  
the hook in the hall. Where is Maryoku?" Kurama  
asked.  
  
"He asked me for the keys to the car a few  
minutes ago so that he could move it out of the  
way. Why?" Keiko asked as she entered the room  
from the kitchen, her hands still wet from washing  
dishes.  
  
Yuusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and Kurama exchanged  
glances and then were scurrying out the door  
grabbing coats and a set of keys as they went.   
Hiei stopped briefly to hand Kyuukai to Keiko with  
the quick warning of, 'He's hot', before he left.   
Keiko had to quickly juggle the infant from hand  
to hand as she left the room to place the baby  
somewhere where he wouldn't catch the house on  
fire.  
  
"He's going after Kitsuryuu, Arashi. Pay up,"  
Mechiko said with her hand out-stretched and a  
smirk on her face as Arashi dug into his pocket.  
  
"I thought that he'd at least wait until  
tonight to look for the Fox," Arashi grumbled  
while Mechiko counted her ill gotten gains.  
  
"Never underestimate the power of true love,  
my friend," the girl said just as her mother stuck  
up behind her and grabbed the money out of her  
hand.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Don't 'hey' me, young lady. How many times  
have I told you not to make bets?" Keiko asked.  
  
"Slightly fewer times than you've told me to  
stop fighting," Mechiko responded with a deep  
sigh.  
  
"I'll just put this away in your savings,"  
Keiko said as she placed the money in her apron.  
"Now, tell me about this 'true love'..."  
======  
end 


	15. fifteen

The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 15  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
edited by Windlily  
  
  
Kitsuryuu slowly became aware of the sights  
and smells around her as the sharp edge of her  
delirium wore off. The light, musky scent of the  
deep forest she had lived in all her life was  
replaced by a strange, heavy smell that burned the  
back of her throat. Even the water she sat by  
smelled funny, though she could see that it was  
crystal clear. Kitsuryuu could see every crevasse  
of the shallow pool by the light that was provided  
by orbs under the water. Kitsuryuu wasn't sure if  
she liked this water, or this place she had found  
herself in, but she had no where else to go and no  
inclination to find a another spot.   
  
She turned and examined the many tiered stone  
structure that was in the exact center of the  
stone pool as she dragged her slender fingers  
through the water. She tilted her head to the  
side and watched the water cascade down the levels  
of stone. Kitsuryuu became fascinated with the  
top rock that was shaped to look like a woman with  
a child nestled in her arms on the upper most  
level . It made her think of her fire friend and  
his baby and Kitsuryuu wished that she had someone  
to hold her like that when she had been a little  
kit. She tried to imagine what it would feel like  
to be loved like that by someone, but other than  
Koori, no one had ever tried.  
  
Kitsuryuu had no idea how long she had been  
sitting here with her feet in the water, but she  
really didn't care. She took the ends of her ice  
blue hair in her hand and fanned them apart as the  
blood hummed warmly in her veins. She studied  
them carefully under the strange light above her  
that was neither the sun nor the moon with heavy,  
drugged eyes. The light illuminated the area  
around her as if it was day, but outside the  
sphere of light it was black as a moonless night.  
  
Kitsuryuu had never taken her youko form long  
enough to see what her hair looked like before.   
She noticed that it was very different than either  
Fuyu's or Koori's blue locks. Kitsuryuu had  
brushed both of the girls' hair before and had a  
chance to examine it closely. For them each  
strand had been identical to the one next to it.   
There was no play of shadow and light like in  
Mechiko's hair, or in Maryoku's. When the two  
girls sat next to each other Kitsuryuu saw no  
difference in color from Koori's to Fuyu's hair.   
  
Kitsuryuu continued to study her own and  
found some strands were a dark blue like the  
girls', but the others ranged from a silvery blue  
to a silver that was almost translucent in the  
light. She knew that her fur as a kitsune was  
even lighter and held more of the silver in the  
tips of her ears and tail.  
  
Kitsuryuu dropped her hair back to her chest,  
bored with it now, and splashed her bare feet in  
the water. It made her left leg ached terribly  
when she did this, so she continued using her  
right foot to smack the water. She didn't close  
her eyes when the water hit her in the face and  
clung to her eyelashes, but she did blink the  
drops away. Kitsuryuu found that it was very hard  
to think clearly so she just watched each little  
droplet that was flung in the air from her play  
reflect the light overhead like bright, faceted  
stones. Kitsuryuu tried to follow each one as it  
fell back into the water, but lost them as they  
merged together into one conglomeration of  
twinkling light that reminded her of her star.   
  
She looked up into the sky and the quick  
motion made her light headed. Once she regained  
her balance Kitsuryuu searched the inky black  
curtain for the bright, heavenly gem that was  
hers. With the light over her head washing out  
the specks of light from the sky, Kitsuryuu could  
barely make out the star that twinkled blue and  
red. That was her star. She had found it a long  
time ago before she even knew humans existed and  
named it as her own. She didn't know why she  
always looked for this tiny speck of light when  
she was lonely, or scared, but every time she did  
she felt better.  
  
Suddenly Kitsuryuu realized that she had been  
in her ice shape for far longer than she ever had  
been before. Her delicate blue eyebrows came  
together in concentration as she tried to remember  
exactly how long she had been like this. She gave  
up trying and thought about the fact that she had  
been sitting here for quite some time and her  
collar had not yet tried to force her into another  
shape.  
  
Kitsuryuu reached for her throat and  
hesitantly touched the smooth leather strap around  
her neck. It was warm from her skin and she could  
feel the designs etched into the surface.   
Suddenly there was a bolt of crackling energy that  
danced along the edges of each shape under her  
fingers. She felt a jolt of electricity race up  
her hand and arm, and her body instinctually  
responded by releasing its own power. The collar  
instantly quieted and Kitsuryuu was struck by the  
realization that the exchange between the collar  
and her skin had almost been pleasurable.  
  
She closed her eyes and focused on the  
electrifying feeling of the blood pounding fast in  
her veins. Kitsuryuu could feel every part of her  
body tingling with sensation. It almost felt like  
the pleasure she felt when she would lay out in  
the bright sun and curl up in a ball to sleep. It  
felt like someone running strong fingers through  
her fur, scratching and rubbing all the spots that  
made her tail twitch. It felt like the fever that  
came over her when she and Mechiko really let  
loose and fought, pushing each other to the limits  
of their abilities.  
  
Right now Kitsuryuu wanted to do all of those  
things, and more. She wanted to run, she wanted  
to fight, she wanted to scream, she wanted to lay  
down in the grass and roll in the sun, she wanted  
to claw something, bite something. She wanted to  
feel and taste sweet blood well up under her lips  
as she bit into soft flesh. She wanted to kill  
something. She wanted to kill a human.  
  
Kitsuryuu's head snapped up at the thought.   
Now that she was aware of these feelings, she  
could sense the slow heartbeats of a couple dozen  
different humans close to her. They were of all  
ages and both sexes, most of them sleeping, but  
some were awake. She knew which would be the best  
for her need, which would give her the most power.  
  
Kitsuryuu didn't like the turn her thought  
had taken. The hunger for power and dominance she  
was feeling made her remember when she had  
slaughtered the humans that had hurt her so badly.   
She could remember clearly how she enjoyed killing  
them. Kitsuryuu had never felt pleasure in  
killing anything before. She had killed to  
survive, to eat, but that time had been different.   
It scared her to think that she wanted to have  
those feelings again.   
  
She did not mourn those humans' deaths, and  
she wasn't sorry that she had ended their  
misbegotten lives, but the things she had done  
after she regretted. She had blindly killed  
everything that had come in her path. She didn't  
care that there had been no need for all those  
animals to die, all she had cared about was  
recapturing the feeling killing the humans and  
feeding off of the one that had taken her ears had  
given her.  
  
Kitsuryuu didn't know what had started these  
feelings inside her. She couldn't remember even  
seeing a human except for Arashi for many years,  
let alone killing one. She tried harder to  
remember the events that had led her to be where  
she was now, but all she came up with was a blank.   
The more she tried to focus her thoughts, the more  
chaotic they became.   
  
She couldn't get the images of what those  
long dead humans had done to her out of her  
thoughts. She could almost smell the stench of  
the room, the feel of the sharp pain of each blow  
that they had given her. Kitsuryuu had always  
been able to feel the ghost pain of her ears after  
*that* human had removed them. It was a faint  
burning sensation that made her want to claw and  
scratch at her healed wounds. She recalled how in  
the days following that the stumps that had once  
been long furry ears had gotten infected. Day by  
day Kitsuryuu could hear less and less, until  
finally all was silent.  
  
Kitsuryuu raised her hand and traced the  
scared edges of her functionless ears though her  
long hair. Her slender finger followed each  
semi-circle and she was consumed by rage and hate  
as strong as the day she had killed the ones that  
had done this to her. Kitsuryuu wanted to see her  
ruined ears, she needed to see what they had done  
to her.  
  
She reached into the back of her hair and  
pulled out a perfect rose made from transparent  
ice. Even though it was devoid of color itself,  
the flower caught and separated the light from  
overhead into its many colors, streaking the  
petals with rainbows. She clutched it tightly in  
her fingers and one of the many, needle-like  
thorns pierced her skin. One drop of bright red  
blood flowed along the stem until it pinched off  
at the end and fell into the water below.   
Kitsuryuu threw the rose without looking at her  
target. It went completing though the circle of  
light over head, extinguishing it.  
  
The light level lowered considerably but the  
lights at the bottom of the pool still made it  
impossible for her to see her reflection in the  
water. Kitsuryuu reached down and crushed the two  
closest orbs on either side of her. They  
collapsed easily in her hands and soon she was  
able to see her dark mirror image.  
  
She studied the stumps that had been left  
behind in the reflection closely. She found them  
to be extremely grotesque and wished that even  
they were gone. Kitsuryuu glared at her hideous  
face and it glared back. She was so engrossed  
with her own thoughts that she almost didn't feel  
Maryoku approaching until he was almost standing  
next to her.  
  
She became furious that he had seen her like  
this. Damaged, ugly and incomplete. She swiftly  
shifted to her more familiar fire form and was hit  
by a increase in power so strong she thought she  
might explode.  
  
========  
  
Maryoku had watched Kitsuryuu sitting on the  
edge of the park fountain from the shadows ever  
since she had settled on it's edge. He found it  
charming the way she would tilt her head slightly  
to the side to watch the water flow down the  
levels of the statue in the center. She seemed so  
much like a child sometimes with her constant  
questions about the world and her child-like  
innocence about human things. Because of that  
naive outlook he had thought of her a pet instead  
of a intelligent person for far too long.  
  
Maryoku couldn't decide what had changed his  
view of Kitsuryuu from a charming pet to the  
intelligent and talented woman he knew now. It  
could have been the first time he realized that  
Kitsuryuu and Koori were having meaningful  
discussions in the primitive signing they used.   
It could have been the first time he caught her  
trying to read one of Koori reading primers when  
the little girl was asleep. It could have been  
when he saw her place Arashi under the shade of a  
tree away from the harsh sun that had already  
turned the red head's skin a bright pink. Maryoku  
smiled to himself and realized that it had been  
her drawings that had made the difference.  
  
Kitsuryuu's talent with a pencil was  
something that none of them had taught her. She  
just picked up one of his pencils and his notebook  
and started drawing one day. Before he knew it  
she had filled up his chemistry notebook and  
started on his literature notes. The first  
pictures had been rough, but soon she learned how  
to hold the pencil correctly and the drawings  
almost began to breathe with a life of their own.   
  
He had transferred his notes to other  
notebooks and hid Kitsuryuu's first pictures under  
his mattress. The next day he came home with all  
the books he could find on sign language and  
started to teach her. It had been slow at first,  
because Kitsuryuu really didn't see the need to  
use anything new, but soon she realized that she  
could say more with what he was teaching her. She  
had a small vocabulary and her sentence structure  
was horrible, but she started to talk more to them  
instead of signing everything to Koori so that the  
little girl could translate.   
  
Kitsuryuu could be as loving and loyal as any  
pet, or she could be as deadly a female protecting  
her cubs. Her temper was always intense and  
fleeting. Her resolve was always rock solid and  
nothing could change her mind once it was set.   
She had learned to survive on her own probably  
before he had been born and she acted on instinct  
almost exclusively. There was no doubt in his  
mind that she could be as dangerous as his father  
feared, but he knew that if it came down to the  
wire that he couldn't rely on a better friend.   
  
As he watched her play he did not miss the  
painful grimace that flashed across her face just  
before she stopped moving her left leg. Maryoku  
didn't know how he knew she'd be here when every  
other time he tried to second guess the youko he  
had been wrong. He was so mesmerized by seeing  
Kitsuryuu in her youko form that he almost missed  
the quicksilver emotions that were easily seen in  
her unguarded eyes. He decided that the best  
course of action would be to get her out of the  
city as soon as possible. He didn't want his  
father and the other adults to be the ones to  
confront Kitsuryuu.  
  
What was she thinking? What was she feeling?   
He wondered that as he slowly approached her. He  
had no clue, but it didn't look like she was  
enjoying herself anymore. He had watched her  
reach up and run her fingers over her ear stubs  
and the bitter and hateful look on her beautiful  
face made him halt. Maryoku knew that the loss of  
Kitsuryuu's ears and tail was a very sore subject  
with the youko. If any of them ever brought it up  
Kitsuryuu would immediately clam up and became  
reclusive.  
  
He watched her suddenly reach for her collar  
and was fascinated by the exchange of the  
leather's white crackling energy with the  
turquoise blue glow that enveloped Kitsuryuu's  
entire body. He was surprised when she didn't cry  
out in pain or start gasping for air as she  
normally did when the collar tried to control her.  
  
He started to worry that something was very  
wrong with her when he could feel the hate and the  
regret that took over her emotions. They were  
chaotic and partially self directed. Maryoku was  
startled when Kitsuryuu reached into her hair and  
pulled out a rose that cast tiny rainbows on her  
face. She moved faster than his eyes could  
register and the light above her head went out in  
a gentle shower of tinkling glass. Next he  
watched her reach into the water and the muffled  
pops of two light fixtures under the surface could  
barely be heard in the quite night.  
  
The remaining lights cast flickering shadows  
on her face as she gazed into the water. He  
wasted no time in closing the remaining distance.   
Kitsuryuu shifted forms and her ghostly blue hair  
changed to black and her near six foot height  
decreased. He heard her gasp in surprise and pain  
as she folded her arms across her stomach.  
  
Maryoku subconsciously took in Kitsuryuu's  
battered appearance. Her hair was tangled and  
encrusted with blood. The left sleeve had been  
cut from her shirt and her left jeans' leg was  
ripped and cut away also. Maryoku saw black  
bruises on her arm and leg and the water around  
her feet started to turn an ugly shade of rust as  
the dried blood washed off.  
  
Kitsuryuu held her middle and rocked back and  
forth moaning. Maryoku started for her again,  
then froze when she suddenly threw her head back  
and let loose a howl that sent chills down his  
spine. It was a long, mournful cry that echoed  
hollowly in the sparse trees of the park. To  
Maryoku it sounded like the wind of a hurricane;  
low, deep and frightening.  
  
Kitsuryuu's head dropped back down to her  
chest and she fell on her hands and knees in the  
shallow fountain. The howl continued, however,  
and became increasingly louder until it was a roar  
that shook the ground and made waves in the water.   
Suddenly the sound seemed to focus on a point and  
exploded in a vortex of deep red flames. From the  
center of the eldrich fire stepped a fox made  
completely of youki fire.  
  
It looked lazily over at him and then turned  
its attention to Kitsuryuu. The water around her  
boiled and turned to steam and in seconds she was  
crouched in an empty pool. Kitsuryuu sat up and  
arched her back with her arms high over her head.   
She gave a slow smile as she stretched, her red  
eyes opening just a crack to look at him.  
  
Maryoku had seen that playful look before and  
was a little nervous that it was directed solely  
at him. Kitsuryuu uncoiled and approached him  
slowly, the fire kitsune following obediently at  
her feet, trying very hard not to limp on her  
healing leg. He watched as she started to circle  
him, her gait graceless and halting. He stood  
still trying to decide if he should move as she  
disappeared out of his sight behind him.  
  
He waited nervously for Kitsuryuu to come  
back around so that he could see her. The park  
was now completely silent without the running  
water of the fountain as a backdrop. The seconds  
ticked by and Maryoku felt a single bead of sweat  
roll down the side of his face. He jumped when  
Kitsuryuu laid her head against the back of his  
shoulder and placed her hands on his lower back.   
Their heights were nearly identical so it was easy  
for Kitsuryuu to nuzzle the back of his neck with  
her nose.  
  
Maryoku leaped forward like he had been  
struck with a white hot poker and whirled to look  
at Kitsuryuu. The kitsune was sitting at her feet  
with its head tilted to the side in confusion.   
Kitsuryuu had a similar look, as if *he* was the  
one that was acting strangely.  
  
"Kitsuryuu, what are you...."  
  
He never got to finish as Kitsuryuu came  
forward and leaned her head against his chest. He  
placed his hands on her shoulders and tried to  
push her away, but she just wrapped her arms  
around his waist. He tried to back up but  
Kitsuryuu followed, the kitsune in perfect step.   
His calves hit the low stone wall of the fountain  
and it unbalanced him enough that he was forced to  
sit or fall.  
  
Maryoku was frightened by Kitsuryuu's strange  
behavior and it only got weirder. Since she was  
still standing while he was sitting, she  
maneuvered herself so that she sat in his lap with  
her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Maryoku  
grabbed Kitsuryuu's arms and forced her hands down  
to her lap. He tried to give her a scowl and a  
quelling look but she just grinned and stared  
blankly back with too bright, glazed eyes.   
  
She leaned forward and he retreated as far as  
he could and still keep his balance. When he  
finally couldn't lean back any farther Kitsuryuu  
rested her face in the crook of his neck.   
Kitsuryuu nuzzled his neck again and Maryoku knew  
that he was blushing a very dark and deep shade of  
red. He tried again to push her away but before  
he could even get his hands to her shoulders he  
felt her hot tongue trace over his skin once and  
then her sharp fangs bit into his neck.  
  
He gasped in pain and the hands that he had  
been holding snaked around his chest to hold him  
tightly. Maryoku's head was spinning at a million  
miles an hour and he was sure he was going to pass  
out. He was thinking that nothing else could  
happen to make this night any weirder, but that's  
when all hell broke loose.  
  
============  
end chapter 15  
  
Here you go another chapter. I suggest reading it  
very slowly because this will be the last one for  
a while. Windlily is on vacation for the next  
three weeks. I guess that means I'll be working  
on Broken Mask for a while!^_^  
  
Kat 


	16. sixteen

Hi there everybody! Long time no chapter, ne? As  
you have already guessed this is the next chapter  
of 'The Forgotten Child". Because of the change  
of mailing lists and such I am sending this  
chapter by both the cc list I had from the  
previous list and through the YuYuHakusho ML  
(yyh@animanga.com one). So I will apologize in  
advance for the multiple copies some of you will  
undoubtedly receive.  
  
Kat  
  
The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 16  
written by Kat Aubuchon  
edited by Windlily  
  
Yuusuke crouched behind a granite statue of  
Hikoboshi and his ox as he cradled Kuwabara's  
bleeding head on his thigh. He looked between the  
legs of the motionless myth that had his petrified  
arms out stretched to his beloved and watched  
Kitsuryuu slowly limp down the path of smooth  
river stones that was meant to represent the river  
that separated the heavenly lovers. Their hunter  
slowly made her way around the statue of Tanabata  
at her loom, searching for any signs of her  
elusive prey.   
  
Yuusuke lowered his ki with practiced ease to  
make sure that Kitsuryuu could not sense where he  
was as he scanned the rest of the park for her  
powerful companion. He found the kitsune of youki  
fire farther up the same path of white stones and  
gave a silent sigh of relief. Yuusuke knew that  
even though the girl in front of him was quick,  
smart and resourceful, she was no match for him in  
pure power. If he wished he could take her out  
with one well placed blast, but he hadn't come to  
kill the youkai, he had come to try and help her.   
  
While Kitsuryuu continued the hunt, Yuusuke  
carefully rolled Kuwabara onto his back and  
inspected the sizable cut over the knot on the  
left side of his head. Yuusuke was somewhat  
relived that the taller man groaned in protest.   
If Kuwabara was awake enough to complain, then his  
friend had not been too grievously injured in  
Kitsuryuu's attack.   
  
Yuusuke heard the rhythmic crunch and drag of  
stones stop and was alerted that Kitsuryuu had  
left the path. A knot of panic formed in his  
mind, had she found them already? He glanced up  
and saw that she was headed their way, but without  
purpose. She hadn't found them, she had just  
changed the course of her search, so he forced  
himself to stay calm. He had to think his way out  
of this.   
  
He knew that he was no match for Kitsuryuu's  
speed, so running wasn't an option. He could  
possibly trick the girl into following him away  
from Kuwabara, but she had that damn fire fox at  
her command, so leaving his friend wasn't an  
option. Yuusuke's only hope for a semi-peaceful  
ending at this standpoint was Kurama and Hiei.  
  
"I'm too old for this, Yuusuke," Kuwabara  
grumbled as he put his hand to his head.  
  
Yuusuke placed his finger over his lips in a  
silent suggestion that his friend be quite.   
Kuwabara didn't acknowledge that he saw Yuusuke  
and fingered the wound above his temple. With a  
hiss of pain Kuwabara jerked his hand away and  
carefully came to a sitting position. The red head  
looked at his trembling fingers and then scowled  
at the blood he saw on them.   
  
"Yukina is gonna kill me when we get home."  
  
"Not before Keiko kicks my ass," Yuusuke  
whispered low as he pointed to the burn holes that  
decorated his brand new shirt and the angry, red  
and black burn marks across his chest.  
  
Kuwabara nodded his head in agreement and  
then grimaced at the pain the movement caused.   
Yuusuke became worried when Kuwabara's eyes rolled  
back and his lids drifted shut. He shook his  
friend's shoulder but Kuwabara had already passed  
out. Yuusuke gave a quite curse and looked again  
to decern where Kitsuryuu was. From the way she  
was still searching the ground for signs of where  
they went, it was clear that she didn't hear the  
noise they had made.  
  
Yuusuke carefully assessed the youkai's  
movement as Kitsuryuu methodically searched for  
them. She was using her heightened youko senses  
to hunt them down instead of her ki. Her ruby  
eyes ran over every blade of grass, trying to find  
ones that had been broken underfoot. Kitsuryuu  
had her nose into the breeze but, luckily for both  
Yuusuke and Kuwabara, they were down wind.   
  
It wasn't just Kitsuryuu Yuusuke was worried  
about, but the fire creature. Her kitsune friend  
was now trotting at her right side, its blazing  
ears twitching to and fro for any sounds that  
might pass in the wind. There was something very  
odd about that creature and Yuusuke just couldn't  
put his finger on what it was. When the fire fox  
had attacked him he had been shocked to realized  
that, except for some minor differences, Kitsuryuu  
and the fox had the same ki. Not that they were  
the same person, but that they both drew their  
power from the same source. Yuusuke only knew of  
one other 'couple' that were this way, Puu and  
himself.   
  
When Puu had still been small enough to be in  
a room and be unnoticed it had been relatively  
easy to mistake his ki for Puu's and visa virsa.   
For just a moment Yuusuke wondered if this fire  
fox was some sort of spirit beast, linked to  
Kitsuryuu the same way he and Puu were. He didn't   
have much time to think about it when he realized  
with a start that the fire fox's eyes were now  
fixed in his direction. Yuusuke froze and waited  
for the fox to alert Kitsuryuu of his location,  
but the kitsune just stared, keeping a weary eye  
on him. Yuusuke kept his gaze locked on this  
unknown threat as he tried to remember when this  
whole mess had gotten out of hand.  
  
When he, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei had  
arrived in the city earlier that evening they had  
been split on where they should start looking.   
Kurama and Hiei had wanted to start with the  
hospital and find Shuuichi, hoping that the young  
doctor had some useful information on what had  
happened. Yuusuke had wanted to start looking for  
Kitsuryuu immediately and on Kuwabara's 'hunch'  
they had started with the park.   
  
As it turned out Yuusuke and Kuwabara were  
the first ones to find both Kitsuryuu and Maryoku.   
The two friends had been surprised to find that  
they had walked in on a rather strange exchange  
between the two young people. They had hunkered  
down in the shadows and waited in silent curiosity  
to see what would happen.   
  
They had watched Kitsuryuu circle around the  
boy with a gleam in her bright eyes, the fire  
kitsune at her feet following obediently. Both of  
the adults had been almost as surprised as Maryoku  
when Kitsuryuu caressed the boy's lower back with  
the heels of her palms. Maryoku had become so  
stiff a strong wind would have been able to knock  
him over. Then Kitsuryuu had leaned against him,  
her face pressed close to the back of Maryoku's  
neck, her eyes closed.   
  
Yuusuke could still see the look of shocked  
terror on his son's face when he had whirled  
around to face Kitsuryuu. Maryoku had looked like  
he was on the edge of panic as he tried to speak  
to the dreamy-eyed girl. Kitsuryuu had ignored  
Maryoku's strange attempts at communication and  
placed her head on his chest. Yuusuke had seen  
the light blush that had crept up Maryoku's cheeks  
and he realized why his son was so quick to take  
up Kitsuryuu's cause. The boy had a crush on the  
youkai.  
  
Kuwabara had made some whispered jokes as he  
also realized Maryoku's attachment to the girl.   
The two of them had snickered in light hearted  
amusement as Maryoku tried to push Kitsuryuu away  
from him while frantically backing up. Yuusuke  
had felt some sympathy for his son, because he  
could still remember how panicked Keiko had made  
him feel when they were younger. Maryoku had half  
fallen, half sat on the low wall of the empty  
fountain behind him with his mouth open in the  
most comical way. Yuusuke had been a little  
shocked when Kitsuryuu slinked her way onto  
Maryoku's lap and made herself comfortable.  
  
Yuusuke hadn't known whether to be concerned  
for his son's physical welfare or his fragile hold  
on his emotions. Maryoku was definitely in a  
panic now and was trying very hard to keep  
Kitsuryuu from wrapping her arms around his neck.   
Yuusuke had easily recognized the scowl his son  
tried to use on Kitsuryuu as the same one Keiko  
used on him when she was upset, but it had no  
effect on the young woman. Kitsuryuu had leaned  
towards Maryoku and the boy had leaned back to get  
away. Yuusuke had actually sat there anxiously  
waiting to see what would happen, telling Kuwabara  
to be quite so he could hear what was going on.  
  
Instead of the kiss he had expected,  
Kitsuryuu had buried her face in Maryoku's neck  
and Yuusuke had seen a look of relief flash over  
his son's features. It was short lived however,  
because Kitsuryuu started to nuzzle the side of  
Maryoku's neck and the boy's face went up in  
bright, red flames. Yuusuke had decided it was  
time to save his son from dying of embarrassment  
and had motioned to Kuwabara that they were going  
to make their presence known.  
  
Just as Yuusuke had stepped out into the open  
he had heard his son gasp in pain. All the humor  
had fled from the situation and Yuusuke had wanted  
to know exactly what Kitsuryuu had been doing to  
Maryoku. He realized in retrospect that he  
shouldn't have rushed in like an untrained novice.   
He had done probably the worse thing he could have  
done in that situation. He had reached out and  
grabbed the girl's shoulder, intending to pull her  
away from his son. Everything after that had  
happened so fast that he still couldn't believe  
that this young lady had turned the tables on him.  
  
After Yuusuke had grabbed Kitsuryuu's  
shoulder, the youkai had quickly turned on him,  
her eyes flaming red. A menacing growl that would  
have done Hiei proud could be heard deep in  
Kitsuryuu's throat as she bared her sharp fangs.   
Maryoku had tried to hold on to Kitsuryuu as she  
leaped to her feet, but the girl had the better  
leverage. The fire kitsune that Yuusuke had  
forgotten in his rush to get to his son came at  
him from the side and he had barely enough time to  
put his arm up in defense.   
  
While Yuusuke was fending off the kitsune he  
had seen Maryoku try and talk to Kitsuryuu, but  
she just turned to his son and landed a very  
precise right cross to Maryoku's jaw. His son  
went down easily and Kitsuryuu lifted him into her  
arms and shakily leaped with one leg to the top of  
the fountain while the kitsune ripped at Yuusuke's  
shirt with its fiery paws, burning the material  
and scorching his skin. He got a defensive  
barrier up between them, but he could still feel  
the intense heat of its body against his chest as  
Kitsuryuu placed Maryoku into the safety of the  
statues arms.   
  
He watched her hover over his son for a few  
seconds, pushing his rumpled hair back into place  
against his scalp as if to apologize while he  
tried to think of a way he could take Kitsuryuu  
down quickly without seriously hurting her as he  
forced his forearm deeper into the kitsune's mouth  
and pushed it back off of him. He still hadn't  
thought of a way as the young youkai jumped back  
down to face him.  
  
Kuwabara entered the scene at that point and  
Kitsuryuu turned her attention from Yuusuke to  
focus on the new threat. His friend had brought  
his Reiken to life and was waiting patiently for  
Kitsuryuu to make her move. The young woman  
grinned crookedly and then flitted off to the  
side. Both he and Kuwabara had been startled by  
the amazing speed Kitsuryuu displayed. She was  
probably just as fast as Hiei, and that was with a  
bad leg to slow her down.  
  
Suddenly Kitsuryuu had appeared in front of  
Kuwabara and he raised his Reiken in defense.   
This was what she had been waiting for, and with a  
quick movement Kitsuryuu stepped forward and  
wrapped her left arm around Kuwabara's right wrist  
and forearm. The weapon was then behind her and  
no longer the focus of her concern. Since her leg  
was far too damaged to support her weight  
properly, Kitsuryuu had used the leverage she  
gained from holding onto Kuwabara's arm to lift  
her right leg up and smash it into the side of his  
face.   
  
The first blow didn't take Kuwabara down but  
the rapid succession of powerful kicks afterwards  
did. Each time Kitsuryuu's shin impacted with  
Kuwabara's face his head snapped to the side with  
the force. There had been an audible crack when  
Kuwabara's head twisted farther than it should  
have and he went down to his knees. With a twist  
on the arm in her grasp, Kitsuryuu threw him to  
the ground, blood flowing from the cut on his  
temple.  
  
Yuusuke had started to rush forward to assist  
his friend as he finally forced the kitsune away.   
He had thought that the fire fox couldn't possibly  
detain him, but he had been very wrong. The  
kitsune's eyes glowed a deep blue and its body  
swirled into flames until nothing was left of the  
original fox form except its eyes, ears and  
muzzle. It had come after him with the same speed  
Kitsuryuu had shown earlier and Yuusuke had known  
that he couldn't match it. He had waited for his  
opportunity, and when the formless fire fox came  
close enough Yuusuke punched it, his hand glowing  
with contained power.   
  
His fist had passed easily into the flames,  
burning off the fine hairs on his arm but had no  
effect on the creature itself. Yuusuke had tried  
to pull back but the serpent-like fox had used his  
failed attack to get close enough to wrap its long  
body around him. Yuusuke's arms had been pinned  
to his sides and the flames had scorched his skin  
were it touched him. He had struggled, but he had  
known that to brake the kitsune's hold he would  
have to expend a massive about of energy that  
might destroy everything around them and he was  
unwilling to do that.  
  
Yuusuke had looked over at Kuwabara and  
Kitsuryuu and was surprised to see that they had  
not changed positions. Kuwabara had been slumped  
on the ground with Kitsuryuu leaning over his  
body, poking at it curiously. The young youkai  
reached out to touch the side of Kuwabara's face  
and gathered some of the blood there onto her  
fingertips. Her eyes had been glassy... vacant,  
and she had looked as though she was in a trance.   
Kitsuryuu brought her fingers to her mouth and the  
tip of her red tongue darted quickly out to taste  
the wetness on her hand.   
  
Suddenly her entire demeanor had changed and  
her face turned cold and emotionless. The color  
had left her eyes making them white and devoid of  
iris or pupil. She had made an angry sounding  
hiss between her clinched teeth as she lifted her  
hands to her ears. She had cupped them at first  
and then she suddenly started scratching at them  
furiously. She had clawed so hard at her own skin  
that it started to bled and had left bloody trails  
across her neck and cheek.  
  
She had stopped suddenly, her hands still on  
her ears, and watched Kuwabara from behind the  
curtain of her tangled red-black hair. As  
Kuwabara tried to get up, Kitsuryuu had backed up  
as if frightened he would attack her, then she  
pounced on the unsuspecting man. Kitsuryuu had  
slammed Kuwabara back down using a swift strike to  
his sternum with the heel of her hand. While  
Kuwabara had been gasping to bring air back into  
his lungs, Kitsuryuu raised her hand above her  
head, gathering a strange combination of youki  
Yuusuke couldn't recognize.  
  
Soon she had a massive about of power  
gathered between her spread finger, more than  
enough to incinerate Kuwabara in his current  
unprotected position. The youki changed as she  
gathered her power, taking the form of a small but  
extremely intense crimson fire than had cast light  
on her face.   
  
Yuusuke had seen her intent to bring her arm  
down with a killing blow and had forced his arms  
from his side to the front. He had gathered his  
reiki to the tip of his finger and the fire fox  
had tried to wrap itself tighter to stop him, but  
it had been too late. Kitsuryuu barely had enough  
time to sense what Yuusuke was up to before he let  
the blast fly.  
  
Kitsuryuu had come to her feet quickly, but  
Yuusuke had purposefully directed the attack so  
that Kitsuryuu was forced to use her bad leg. She  
stumbled to the side and was not fast enough to  
avoid the energy orb completely. It had connected  
with her side and had ripped a nice size chunk of  
flesh from her. Both Kitsuryuu and the fire fox  
screamed out in surprise and pain and the fox  
unwrapped itself to go to her.  
  
He had watched as the serpentine kitsune  
encircled Kitsuryuu's waist and started to heal  
the damage he had inflicted. Yuusuke had taken  
that opportunity to grab Kuwabara and run before  
she completely recovered. Now he had his best  
friend unconscious in his lap while hiding from a  
youkai that he could easily take out with one or  
two well place hits.   
  
Yuusuke was trying very hard to think of a  
way to stop Kitsuryuu without hurting her, but she  
was making it very difficult. The kitsune was  
still staring at him and Kitsuryuu was still  
coming in his direction. Yuusuke knew that there  
was no way that he could out run her even if he  
didn't have to drag Kuwabara with him. He was  
about ready to try and stand his ground with her  
and hope that she would give up or tire out when  
he heard his son calling.  
  
"Father! Kuwabara-san! Can you hear me?!"  
  
Yuusuke started to curse under his breath.   
How was he suppose to answer with Kitsuryuu  
practically standing right next to him? Yuusuke  
was wondering if his son was as bright as he  
thought he was when he noticed that Kitsuryuu had  
not turned toward Maryoku voice.  
  
"Just answer me! Kitsuryuu can't hear you,  
she's deaf!"  
  
"Exactly how much have you been keeping a  
secret, Maryoku?!" Yuusuke yelled in response,  
watching Kitsuryuu for a reaction.  
  
She didn't acknowledge his words, but the  
kitsune looked over his shoulder at where  
Maryoku's voice had come from and then back at  
him. Yuusuke waited for the fire fox to make a  
move, but it just stood there.   
  
"What do you mean?" Maryoku asked.  
  
"You never told us she was deaf, or that she  
had a friend."  
  
"I guess I don't think of her as being deaf  
anymore. It just slipped my mind," Maryoku  
answered hesitantly, "And as for that fox, I have  
no idea where it came from. Let me talk to her.  
Maybe I can get her to calm down."  
  
Yuusuke was ready to yell back that Maryoku  
wasn't going to do anything that stupid when he  
saw his son walk out of the bushes and into the  
open. Kitsuryuu immediately spotted him and the  
kitsune jogged over to Maryoku. His son took a  
step back and the fire fox stopped a few feet away  
from him. Kitsuryuu gave Maryoku a cool look, her  
eyes had changed back to their natural red, as she  
placed her hand on the fox's head. Again the fox  
dissolved into a swirl of flames, but this time it  
raced up her arm and into her hair. Kitsuryuu  
closed her eyes for a moment and Yuusuke could  
feel her struggle to control the massive increase  
of power to her system.  
  
It didn't look like she was going to be able  
to control it until she changed forms and in a  
flash of dim blue light she was a youko. Yuusuke  
could barely recognize her as being of the same  
race as Kurama because of her lack of ears and  
tail. It was the shape of her powerful, slender  
body and the proportions of her face that made him  
think of a youko. In fact, she looked so much  
like Youko Kurama that she could have been his  
twin sister except for the silver blue hair and  
wine colored eyes.  
  
Yuusuke again wondered how much his son had  
forgotten when he had told them about Kitsuryuu.   
Here she was deaf, obviously brutalized,  
possessing a sentient fire beast and more powerful  
than she should be for her age, and it all just  
'slipped his mind'! Yuusuke rubbed the headache  
that was forming at the back of his eyes, he  
really wasn't looking forward to the talk he was  
going to have with his son later.  
  
"Kitsuryuu! Listen too me! Kuwa... the tall  
human... isn't here to hurt you!" his son yelled,  
becoming impatient.  
  
Kitsuryuu made many quick sharp gestures in  
the air and accented each 'word' with a facial  
expression. From the movements she was making it  
was reasonably clear that she was retelling the  
fight earlier. Maryoku tried to interject at this  
point but Kitsuryuu made a few more hand motions  
and his son's face froze. It was several seconds  
before Maryoku could recover his wits enough to  
answer her.  
  
"I didn't mean what I said before. I was  
angry at him at the time," Maryoku fumbled, trying  
to find the right words to explain. "Remember when  
I told you about mothers and fathers?"  
  
Kitsuryuu crossed her arms over her chest and  
gave Maryoku a searching look. Her eyebrows came  
together in deep concentration, as if it was very  
hard for her to focus on what Maryoku was saying.   
If Yuusuke didn't know better he'd swear that she  
looked drugged, or drunk. He had seen his mother  
with that same kind of look when she *really* got  
wasted. He started to watch Kitsuryuu closely for  
anymore signs. Kitsuryuu finally nodded that she  
remembered and Maryoku continued.  
  
"Well, when I told you I wished my father was  
dead I was angry because he had left for the Makai  
again. I don't really want my father dead,  
Kitsuryuu. OK?"  
  
Yuusuke couldn't believe what he was hearing.   
His own son had wanted him dead. Yuusuke focused  
on what Maryoku had said and started to analyze  
the last 14 years and was startled by the truth.   
He had spent more time in the Makai away from his  
wife and children than he had with them. All  
those years in the war and then all the little  
trips he took to make sure everything was running  
smoothly added up to a huge chunk of time.   
Yuusuke tried to remember how many birthdays,  
holidays and anniversaries he had missed over the  
years and was saddened to realize it was easier to  
count up the few that he had attended.   
  
The rest of the conversation was lost on the  
wind as Yuusuke was struck low and hard with the  
answer he'd been looking for. He had tried many  
times to think of why his son hated him and now he  
knew, and it was all his fault.   
  
What had made him think that he could have a  
family in the Ningenkai *and* run his affairs in  
the Makai at the same time? He had successfully  
repelled all attempts of take over by outside  
forces on his kingdom, but he had single handily  
ruined his own family. How many times had he  
cursed his own father for abandoning him and his  
mother like he did? How many times had he  
promised himself that he would *never* be like  
him?   
  
Yuusuke looked down at his hands and stared  
at his battle scared fingers. He flexed his right  
hand and the skin that he had just burned had  
heeled enough so that there was no more pain.   
Yuusuke couldn't remember how many youkai he had  
killed to protect his land. He had killed to  
preserve a kingdom he did not establish. He  
killed to keep his loyal subjects in relative  
safety, but none of it was truly his.  
  
He had not been the one to fight to secure  
the land in the first place. He had not been the  
one that spent centuries stalemated against two of  
the most powerful youkai in the Makai. He did not  
create, he destroyed, and he was good at it.  
  
Kuwabara had built his own home from the  
ground up. Everything about it he had planned and  
he had created. It was his, for good or for bad,  
but Kuwabara had made it with his own two hands.   
Kurama created the most wonderful and beautiful  
plants that anyone could imagine. His whole  
nature was to create, even when he was killing.   
Even Hiei had done the most prestigious thing that  
Yuusuke could possibly think of. The sullen,  
glaring, and aloof fire demon had made a child and  
this is what struck Yuusuke deeply.   
  
Hiei's son wasn't like any other child,  
because it was his will alone that had made  
Kyuukai. Hiei had formed a soul because that was  
what he had wanted. Yuusuke knew that Hiei was a  
father in every sense of the word while he was the  
lowest form of life on the plant.   
  
Yuusuke clenched his fists tightly and wished  
that there was someone there that could beat the  
shit out of him, because that was what he really  
wanted right now. He wanted to inflect pain as  
deep as Maryoku felt on himself. He wanted to  
make up for all the missing years. He wanted  
Maryoku, Mechiko and Keiko to forgive him, but how  
could they when he couldn't forgive himself? How  
could he give back all the time that was gone?   
The simple answer was that he couldn't, and he  
didn't know if he could live with that answer.  
  
Yuusuke looked back at Maryoku and Kitsuryuu  
and the 'fight' they were having. Apparently his  
son wasn't making any headway with the youko.   
Maryoku must have said something that Kitsuryuu  
didn't like very much because the young woman had  
a murderous look in her eyes and her hands were  
clasped into tight fists at her side. She glared  
down at his son from her six foot height and then  
turned on her heel to leave. Maryoku reached out,  
grabbing Kitsuryuu's arm, but the girl jerked away  
shaking her head.  
  
Suddenly Kitsuryuu looked like she was on the  
edge of tears as she frantically shook her head  
and signed the same thing over and over again.   
She started rubbing her arms and then pushing her  
long hair over her ear stubs. When Kitsuryuu  
tried to turn away again, Maryoku stepped in front  
of her, not letting her escape. She refused to  
look at him and stoutly looked to the side.  
  
It was almost laughable when his son had to  
reach up to turn her head with his hand so that  
she would look at him. Kitsuryuu was almost a  
half a foot taller than his son right now, but she  
gave the impression of being a frighten child  
instead of the powerful youko she was. Kitsuryuu  
reluctantly turned her head and listened to what  
Maryoku had to say. His son smiled at her  
comfortingly and slowly signed something. The  
only thing that he could understand was the  
universal OK at the end. Maryoku held his hand  
out for Kitsuryuu to take it.  
  
Reluctantly she took it and Yuusuke noticed  
that her breathing became labored and Maryoku look  
alarmed. The collar around her neck started to  
glow slightly and Kitsuryuu sucked in a deep  
breath as Maryoku called out her name. Yuusuke  
wondered what was wrong with her when Kurama and  
Hiei made their untimely entrance.  
  
=======  
end chapter 16 


	17. seventeen

The Forgotten Child   
Chapter 17  
written by Kat (Aubuchon) Mayes  
edited by Windlily  
  
  
For a fraction of a second Hiei alighted on a  
precariously balanced piece of wall, then leapt to  
an even more hazardously placed cross beam. His  
slight weight made the iron work groan in protest,  
but it unwillingly supported him. Hiei had paid  
little attention to the perilously standing walls  
and ceiling of the human hospital that had once  
stood on this spot. He cared little that at any  
moment the entire structure could collapse around  
him like the playing card houses Koori was fond of  
making. His only goal was to find Kitsuryuu...  
and Kurama's brother if he could.  
  
It had been easy for him to slip away from  
Kurama in all the commotion the humans had been  
making. Kurama had been convinced they needed to  
find his brother first so that they could find out  
what had happened to Kitsuryuu leading up to the  
explosion. However, Hiei didn't want to waste  
time waiting for some human to show up to help  
them. He would much rather take the direct  
approach and search for a ki signature to  
follow... besides, it got him away form all the  
damn noise the humans where making.  
  
Hiei felt no guilt about leaving the three  
humans that he could hear still trapped beneath  
the charred rubble as he moved through the remains  
of the hospital. He liked humans well enough, he  
didn't kill them on sight, after all. He was  
actually kind of fond of Shiori, and his nephew  
Arashi. But these humans had no hold on his life,  
no meaning to his heart, and if the rescuers that  
were searching through the debris couldn't see the  
bright red strips of material he had ripped from  
his jacket and tied to the nearest piece of metal  
piping, that was their own fault.  
  
Hiei briefly looked down at what remained of  
the jacket Kurama had given him. He gave a  
dismissive shrug and continued on his way. He  
knew Kurama would yell about ripping the silly  
thing, but it was the Fox's own fault for giving  
it to him in the first place. Kurama knew how  
rough he was on his clothes... besides, it was  
*red*. If the youko felt like he needed to mark  
his territory, that was fine, but there were  
better, more... pleasant... ways.   
  
A small knot of dread settled in Hiei's  
stomach as he approached the place where the blast  
that leveled the building around him had  
originated. He had been able to feel the youki  
that now filled his senses a full mile away. It  
had lain close to the ground like a fog and reeked  
of primitive, basic animal thoughts and primal  
fear. It was the smell of a hunted youkai that  
was throwing out everything it had in a last ditch  
effort to live.   
  
Hiei knew that the youki had come from  
Kitsuryuu, but the girl shouldn't have been able  
to summon that kind of power. Both he and Kurama  
had agreed that the youki they had felt was at  
least A-class (if not higher) and Kitsuryuu  
couldn't possibly be any higher than D, or C,  
class.   
  
What had happened to cause her to go beyond  
her body's natural capabilities like this? How  
could she have possibly survived channeling all  
that raw power? What if the blast *was* too  
strong? What if she was d...  
  
Hiei clenched his hands at his sides and  
pushed those thoughts aside, determined to bring  
Kurama's daughter back, safe and alive, or not  
come back at all. He knew that he would never be  
able to face his lover again if he didn't. Hiei  
couldn't stand the thought of failing Kurama, or  
Kitsuryuu again.  
  
With one more swift leap Hiei stood in the  
exact center of where the explosion occurred. He  
reached up with trembling hands and removed the  
covering over his Jagan, almost afraid of what he  
might find. He wasn't completely sure how his  
third eye would react after the episode earlier  
that evening in his room, but he had to try.  
  
Hiei focused his thoughts on Kitsuryuu,  
making sure that everything else was pushed to the  
background, and closed his natural eyes. At first  
nothing happened and Hiei started to worry. Then,  
very slowly, sensations started to build at the  
back of his neck and then spread to every part of  
his body.  
  
He was a little startled at the way his Jagan  
seemed to react to Kitsuryuu. Never, in all the  
times Hiei had used his third eye, had he had this  
strong a connection to the subject he was  
watching. Usually, it was similar to watching the  
TV. Sometimes he could sense their feelings, but  
he had never had an experience where he *was* the  
other person.  
  
Hiei became aware of a deep aching pain down  
the left side of his body. The same pain he had  
felt before. Suddenly his eyes were forced open  
and a bright, blinding light was shone in making  
his brain scream in stabbing pain. He could feel  
hands all over his body, moving it... hurting  
it... an overwhelming wave of panic hit him.   
  
He had to get away, he had to run... oh gods,  
they were *humans*! He struggled and fought, but  
he couldn't move. Nothing moved! None of his  
limbs would respond. He tried to forced his eyes  
to open, but they refused to obey. He could sense  
the humans around him... so many... too many...  
all around him. The panic was suffocating, the  
smell of humans was stifling, the scent of blood  
permeated every other smell.  
  
Then there was a touch... gentle... different  
from the rest... on his cheek and with a laborious  
effort he opened his eyes. There was another  
human next to him, but his eyes were sad and  
worried. It was very strange for him to see  
compassion from a human. There was something about  
this human that he knew he could trust. Hiei  
latched onto those eyes with his own like a  
drowning man as the human touched his hand. It  
was a soft, gentle pressure, yet strengthening at  
the same time and then he couldn't keep his eyes  
open anymore.  
  
Hysteria wrapped itself around his senses  
when he felt that hand pull away from his. his mind  
screamed. 'That' human was gone, leaving the  
others to continue their painful work. Soon he  
felt cold... so cold. He had never felt cold like  
this before. Everything was slowing down. He  
discovered that the pain was gone, the smells were  
gone too, and all round him things disappeared  
until he was all alone in the cold dark. He knew  
what it was. It was death.  
  
Then he became aware of a warmth seeping into  
his body, spreading outward to every nerve and  
becoming more and more intense with every beat of  
his heart. His heart... he could feel his heart  
and every other organ in his body begin to respond  
to the warmth with an alarming clarity, but too  
slowly... oh, so slowly. Then Hiei experienced a  
push that forced him completely from Kitsuryuu's  
mind and body.  
  
Hiei found himself kneeling on the floor  
trying to catch his breath. He looked up in time  
to see a woman in a white uniform make her way to  
him and then... moved straight through him. Hiei  
blinked in confusion as he looked around the room.   
There were several humans dressed in white  
uniforms working around a metal bed with wheels,  
looking curiously at whoever was on it.   
  
Hiei came to his feet, bewildered by what was  
happening to him. Just a second ago he was  
experiencing Kitsuryuu's emotions, and then it  
just stopped. He was no longer connected to her  
mind, but he knew that he was still in her past,  
in the same room she had been in.  
  
He quickly made his way to the metal bed and  
simply walked through the humans that were  
hovering around it. Hiei paused at the side and  
was frustrated that he was just barely tall enough  
to see over the edge. Someone had his hands on  
Kitsuryuu's face but Hiei could see the tangled  
and bloodied hair that spilled across the white  
sheets and knew it was Kurama's daughter.  
  
Hiei took stock of the injuries he could see  
from this vantage point. Her left arm was badly  
broken and the leg on this same side was even  
worse. The man beside Kitsuryuu finally removed  
his hands and Hiei was treated with a perfect view  
of the young girl's damaged face. Her skin looked  
like torn tissue paper. There were deep and mild  
cuts all along the one side of her face and  
forehead, but what alarmed Hiei the most was the  
paleness of her skin.  
  
He looked at her leg again and studied the  
amount of blood that stained the remains of her  
clothing and bandages there. It didn't seem like  
enough to cause the complete whiteness of her skin  
that was only marred by the red of blood. That  
meant internal injuries. Hiei unthinkingly tried  
to place his hand on Kitsuryuu's stomach and  
scowled when his arm passed straight through her.  
  
Hiei had never felt more useless and  
frustrated in his life. Here he was, less than a  
foot away from Kitsuryuu, and he couldn't *do*  
anything. He crossed his arms over his chest and  
resigned himself to wait for something to happen.   
He didn't have to wait long.  
  
Suddenly, there was a flurry of activity  
around the metal bed and the humans in white  
started doing... things.... to Kitsuryuu. Hiei  
was forced to stand back and watch because people  
kept stepping through him to stand where he was  
standing and he couldn't see. That was when he  
realized he couldn't hear anything either. He  
could see the man who seemed to be in charge yell  
at the others and watched them respond, but all of  
it was in silence.   
  
Hiei had to watch closely to understand that  
the man wanted one of the other people to put  
something around the bags of red liquid on the  
metal pole to the side. He observed one of the  
women place a black band around the bags and then  
inflate it with the little pump that was attached  
to it. Hiei couldn't see how this was going to  
help any, the only thing the bags where attached  
to was Kitsuryuu's arm.   
  
Then he felt it. A radiating heat from the  
young youkai on the bed. The warmth grew and  
pooled within Kitsuryuu as the color started to  
return to her pasty, pale skin. It took a moment  
for Hiei to realize what the humans were doing.   
They were giving her blood, human blood.  
  
Hiei started to panic. Didn't they know how  
dangerous that was?! There was no way to know  
how'd she'd react, and if past history could be  
believed, fire demons never reacted well. No  
wonder Kitsuryuu felt like she was powering up for  
an attack. Couldn't the idiots feel it?! Hiei  
could feel the power welling up inside her, being  
held back by an unknown and unnatural force.  
  
Movement brought Hiei's attention to the door  
and he saw Shuuichi there. His face drained of  
color when he saw the bags of blood being forced  
into Kitsuryuu's body. Hiei could only watch as,  
at first, nothing happened. Then her leg began to  
heal and her arm to straighten. Her body was  
throwing off massive amounts of youki heat that  
seemed to go unnoticed by everyone in the room.  
  
Hiei knew that the power was welling up  
inside Kitsuryuu, forcing itself against the wall  
within her. The youki was healing her body, using  
a portion of the awesome power that was being  
generated in her, but that small amount was only a  
drop compared to the tidal wave behind it.   
Suddenly the dam that had been holding back all of  
Kitsuryuu's power was overwhelmed and the youki  
rolled out in massive waves that began to tear her  
young body apart.  
  
Kitsuryuu grabbed the metal fence that was  
around the bed when the power hit her. Shuuichi  
had the rare, good human sense to get the hell out  
of the room, and took the other two humans with  
him. Hiei remained where he was and watched as  
Kitsuryuu was being burned alive by her own youki.  
  
The power was too much for her young body.   
He knew that from experience. Even being  
centuries old hadn't helped him when he first  
called on the type of power Kitsuryuu was  
displaying now. He had nearly lost his arm with  
his first attempt at the tournament, but he had  
been at least mentally, if not physically,  
prepared for it. Kitsuryuu was already badly hurt  
and nearly unconscious and was being consumed by  
more youki than he had been able to muster that  
first time.  
  
A crimson glow seemed to float over her skin  
as the youki that had escaped matched the  
intensity of that still within her. Then Hiei  
felt Kitsuryuu let go. The power had been too  
much for her and she couldn't fight it any longer.   
He knew his heart had stopped beating along with  
hers and he didn't care. His mind tried to rebel.   
She couldn't be gone. Not after he had just found  
her. He couldn't let Kurama down again, he just  
couldn't.   
  
/You can stop with the melodramatics. She's  
going to be fine./  
  
Hiei very nearly jumped straight out of his  
skin as the strong mental voice vibrated across  
his thoughts. He was stunned to find a kitsune  
made solely of Kitsuryuu's youki fire standing  
next to him, regarding him coolly with solid ice  
blue eyes.  
  
/Who the hell are you!/ Hiei responded,  
completely ignoring his daughter until she  
manifested a kitsune identical to the one that was  
in front of him now.  
  
Hiei watched as the kitsune helped Kitsuryuu  
release the excess youki that had been killing  
her. The wave radiated outward from her in a  
circle and as the front of it approached him, Hiei  
put his arms up in front of his face in instinct.   
But like everything else in this re-enacted world,  
it passed through him and caused no damage as it  
went on to level everything else.  
  
/Kitsuryuu!/ Hiei screamed after her as  
Kitsuryuu walked through the mortar dust and into  
the other room with the kitsune at her feet.  
  
/It's a little late for fatherly concern,  
don't you think? About 17 years too late,  
O-to-san,/ the kitsune mocked, stressing each  
syllable with a sneer.  
  
Hiei choose to follow his daughter and to  
ignore the kitsune's taunts. He only took three  
steps when the kitsune walked in front of him,  
blocking his path. Hiei growled in warning as he  
drew his sword.   
  
/What do you think your doing?/ the kitsune  
chuckled with an incline to his head, /All of this  
isn't even real. It's all in your mind, created  
by that damn Jagan of yours./  
  
/Who the fuck *are* you?! What do you  
want?!/ Hiei hissed, not letting down his guard.  
  
/I don't have a name anymore, but that  
doesn't matter. All I've come to tell you is to  
give up looking for Kitsuryuu,/ the kitsune said  
with a threat in his psionic voice.  
  
/Who are you to tell me what to do about  
Kitsuryuu?!/ Hiei yelled and wanted to do nothing  
more than to hack the fire fox into tiny flames.  
  
/Who am I... ? You're a fine one to question  
my involvement in Kitsuryuu's life. Who are *you*  
to even think you're good enough for *her*. You  
think that just because you've found her wandering  
around in the woods one day that you can be a part  
of her life again?/ the kitsune jeered, his blue  
eyes glowing hot.  
  
The point of Hiei's sword slid to the ground  
and his shoulders slumped. Hiei knew that the fox  
was right. He had no business being in  
Kitsuryuu's life. He had been the one to abandon  
her, the one to leave her to die. He had no right  
to even look at her.  
  
  
/Were you there to watch when she took her  
first step, make her first kill? Were you there  
when she shed her silver baby coat and where were  
you when she almost drowned in the river?/ the  
kitsune laughed cruelly at Hiei's stricken look.  
  
/What's the matter, Tochan, didn't know that  
Kitsuryuu had such an eventful life? Well, let me  
reassure you it doesn't stop there. You missed  
everything, and who do you think was there to  
watch her fail and triumph?/  
  
/You... you were with her... I mean back  
then,/ Hiei whispered as he gaze traveled to the  
spot he had last seen Kitsuryuu before the dust  
had swallowed her.  
  
/Idiot! Do you think if I could have been  
there I would have let all those things happen to  
her? No, I had to sit passively by and watch it  
all. Me and My Lord were forbidden from  
interfering in her life until now. I had to watch  
that first winter when she almost starved. Do you  
realize that she was only two years old when that  
fox that fostered her died and left her alone?   
Her kitsune body may have been full grown but her  
mind was still an infant's. But now she will come  
with us and live the life she was meant for./  
  
Hiei could tell the kitsune was sneering at  
him with contempt, but it couldn't be any stronger  
than what he felt towards himself. Hiei could  
feel a pain in the center of his heart that he had  
thought he had forgotten. The fear, the pain, the  
loneliness of being abandoned. The emptiness you  
knew wouldn't go away because your own mother  
didn't want you, feeling you were less than  
worthless. How many times had Kurama tried to  
approach the subject with him and he had shrugged  
it off, telling his lover and himself that he  
didn't care, that it didn't matter?  
  
Then something snapped inside of him. It  
wasn't just Kurama he would be disappointing by  
giving up; it was Koori, Maryoku, Kiseki, Arashi,  
Fuyu, Mechiko and Kyuukai. All those that knew  
her, all those that she had loved, those that had  
come to love her in return and damn it he was one  
of those people! He had never really touched her,  
never held her, never been able to know her, but  
he loved her. He knew it as surely as he had  
known that Kurama was going to be the only person  
capable of breaking through the wall he had built  
around his heart. Now he didn't just have the Fox  
invading his dark heart, making it streaked with  
rainbow color, he had Kyuukai and Kitsuryuu.  
  
Hiei thought  
with an inner smirk, and for the first time since  
he found out that Kitsuryuu was his lost little  
girl it truely *felt* like she was his daughter.   
  
/Just go home, Hiei. Go home and be with  
your lover and your new child and forget Kitsuryuu  
ever existed. Me and My Lord will raise her to be  
who she's meant to be and she'll never have to  
know she had you as a father./  
  
Hiei had his sword to the fox's throat before  
the kitsune could react. A cold grin graced his  
deadly face as he watched the fox blink several  
times in confusion, and then try and slink away.   
His sword followed, inch for inch. He could feel  
his Jagan working to warp this temporary reality  
and hold the kitsune in place. The fire fox's  
eyes widened with alarm at the force of this new  
attack.  
  
/You listen to me, bastard. Kitsuryuu is  
*my* daughter. Mine and Kurama's. Do you  
understand that? If you even *think* about taking  
her away from me there won't be enough left of you  
and your 'lord' for me to spit on,/ Hiei said  
calmly as his eyes blazed and his ki flared out  
like a monstrous black dragon ready to strike.  
  
/So does this mean that you won't give up on  
her, no matter what? That you'll do what ever it  
takes to keep Kitsuryuu safe?/ the kitsune asked  
with a hidden twinkle in his blue eyes.  
  
Hiei pressed the sword harder against the  
kitsune's throat and the flames there split apart  
slightly at the intrusion. His aura, which  
previously had no firm shape, formed itself into  
an obsidian dragon with forelegs the size of  
trees. Its feet slammed down on the ground beside  
where they stood and the dragon lowered its head  
over Hiei's shoulder and blew a scalding huff of  
brimstone tainted air through its nostrils.   
  
/Whatever it takes./  
  
Hiei could have sworn he saw the kitsune  
smile just before he was hit in the chest by a  
psionic wave that pushed him against his dragon's  
chest. The dragon itself blinked in confusion,  
but recovered to take a snap at the fox. With  
just a narrowing of his eyes the kitsune banished  
the dragon back into Hiei's mind and stood there  
before the astonished fire demon.  
  
/Good, I was hoping you would finally stop  
feeling sorry for yourself, get up off your ass  
and be strong enough to be Kitsuryuu's father,/  
the kitsune said with what sounded like... relief.  
  
The kitsune turned itself around and started  
to walk away into a red mist before Hiei had a  
chance to recover from the words that hit harder  
than the psychic wave.  
  
/Things have already been set into motion  
that even My Lord is powerless to stop. You're  
going to have to be strong and remember your oath,  
Hiei. It might be your only chance to save her.  
You'll find her in the park with your friends, but  
if you don't watch yourself and that lover of  
yours, she might hurt herself trying to defend  
that boy,/ the kitsune's voice floated back.  
  
/Wait! Who are you?/ Hiei called one more  
time as the scarlet mist enveloped the fox.  
  
/I told you I don't have a name anymore. My  
Lord allowed me to borrow this shape so that I  
could speak with you here,/ the kitsune said as  
his image melted away. /Tell Yukina that Hana no  
Kokoro says not to worry so much, she's happy  
now./   
  
The red mist finally dissipated and Hiei was  
left standing in the rubble of the human hospital,  
staring at the spot where the kitsune had  
disappeared. He heard the crunching of loose  
concrete as Kurama and Shuuichi ran to him and he  
turned to face them.  
  
"We have to find Kitsuryuu, *now*!" Hiei and  
Kurama said in unison, much to their amazement.  
  
"Well, now that you two are in agreement,"  
Shuuichi said with a chuckle, that Hiei glared at.   
"I think that gir... I mean your daughter ran off  
towards the park over there after she pulled that  
wall off of me."  
  
Both Hiei and Kurama nodded in agreement, but  
Shuuichi grabbed his brother's arm before he could  
run off.  
  
"Remember what I said. She's frightened, and  
doped up. So just be careful with her, OK."  
  
"Don't worry so much, Shuuichi-kun. I'm sure  
that we can handle her," Kurama said with a  
disarming grin to relieve his brother's fears.  
  
Hiei looked sideways at his lover and then  
towards the park. He wasn't quite sure if  
*anyone* was quite ready for their daughter after  
what he had just seen. Suddenly there was a build  
up of tightly controlled power of the same type  
Kitsuryuu had leveled the hospital with, and then  
a flash of Yuusuke's ki in the air, a blast strong  
enough to do some heavy damage. Hiei and Kurama  
looked at each other and without a sound they were  
both gone.  
  
Shuuichi reached into his burned and torn  
jacket and pulled out his miraculously undamaged  
cell phone and dialed. The phone on the other end  
picked up on the first ring and a frantic hello  
rang in his ears.  
  
"Shiori, are you siting down, because I have  
some really strange news for you, Grandma."  
  
==========  
end chapter 17 


	18. eighteen

The Forgotten Child   
Chapter 18  
written by Kat Mayes  
edited by Windlily  
  
Kurama halted for a moment in front of a  
cluster of apartment buildings that stood between  
himself and the city park. He took a quick  
assessment of his surroundings, gave a sigh, and  
choose the fastest path so that he could *attempt*  
to catch up with his lover. Hiei had easily out  
distanced Kurama in the first few minutes of their  
journey, totally ignoring the fact that while he  
could seemingly jump straight up into the air to  
avoid going around buildings, Kurama could not.   
  
A slight frown marred Kurama's handsome face  
as he thought about the way Hiei had treated him  
when he had asked the fire demon to slow down.   
Hiei had stopped just long enough to glance back  
and then continued on. For the first time in  
years, Hiei had given him 'the look'.  
  
With that one simple narrowing of his cold  
eyes his lover had basically told him that if he  
had of been training instead of playing with  
humans then maybe he would have been able to keep  
up, that he wasn't going to baby him, and that if  
he didn't think he could keep up then he should go  
home. That 'look' was Hiei's way of saying that  
Kurama was in his way.  
  
Kurama found himself feeling slightly annoyed  
at Hiei's attitude. Kurama knew that he was  
closer to Hiei than any other person alive, with  
the exception of Yukina. Still, he knew very  
little about the quite fire demon. Over the years  
he had learned to interpret Hiei's wants from his  
fleeting facial expressions and body language,  
using every youko trick he knew to try and  
understand his lover better. Right now Kurama was  
completely confused by Hiei.  
  
Hiei never had been the type to express his  
emotions. In fact, the stubborn little youki  
would *still* deny that he had any of the deeper,  
stronger emotions at all. That was why when Hiei  
had rushed into the dojo with frantic concern and  
fear showing plainly on his face everyone had  
instantly stopped. Kurama had seen more emotion  
out of the fire demon in the last couple of hours  
than he had in the 20+ years he had known him.  
  
Even if Hiei didn't realize it, Kurama knew  
that his lover felt every emotion just as keenly  
as anyone else. Kurama knew that the idea of  
seeing their daughter again after all this time  
scared the hell out of Hiei, even if he wasn't  
admitting it to himself. Hell, it scared him to  
even think he was a father of not one, but two  
children.   
  
As a Youko he had sworn to never have a child  
if he could help it. They were a bother, a  
nuisance that more often than not you had to kill  
when they came back after being raised by their  
mothers. As Shuuichi he had resigned himself to  
the fact that one day he would have to marry a  
human woman and have children to make Shiori  
happy. Despite those ties to the Ningenkai he  
knew that once his mother died he would leave his  
wife and children to return to his true home.   
  
Things had changed a bit when his mother had  
found out about, and then accepted, his  
relationship with Hiei. He no longer felt the  
pressure of carrying on his human father's line,  
therefore he stopped consciously thinking about  
generating any children of his own. He was free  
to enjoy all his little nieces and nephews without  
being constantly reminded that he also had to have  
children.  
  
Kurama had watched the changes those tiny  
hellions had made in his friends. Yuusuke became  
more responsible and a little less rough around  
the edges. Keiko seemed made for being the mother  
of two very overactive children and was just plan  
happier. Kuwabara finally had someone else other  
than Yukina to fawn over and therefore settled  
down a bit. Yukina didn't seem to change much,  
other than when Kiseki and Koori were born she was  
the holy terror. Kurama had been very aware of  
the way Kuwabara's wife had watched him the first  
time he was ever allowed to hold Kiseki. There  
was no doubt in his mind that if anything ever  
happened to one of the Kuwabara mob that Yukina  
was the one they would have to deal with.  
  
It had amazed him that through all of the  
little trails those kids put their parents  
through; the late nights, and the childhood rough  
spots, none of his friends would trade a day of it  
for a day without it. Those first few months  
*had* been a little rougher on Yuusuke and  
Kuwabara than their wives. Kurama had spent many  
nights listening to the two of them beg to  
exchange a few minutes of 'family bliss' so that  
they could have their wives all to themselves  
again. It had been almost comical to watch two  
grown men being jealous of infant babies.  
  
Both of them had thrown almost child like  
fits trying to get their wives' attention. They  
would make Keiko and Yukina choose between them  
and the kids and, predictably, most of the time  
they lost. Kurama couldn't understand why his  
friends figured that things wouldn't change when  
the children came. It was ridiculous to expect  
the girls to act the same after....  
  
For an instant that one thought was enough to  
make Kurama forget that he was a first class thief  
that possessed both grace and balance. Kurama's  
feet had stopped cold but the rest of him still  
wanted to continue forward and the end result was  
a severely overbalanced youko. He recovered just  
enough of his former grace to keep himself from  
falling over the edge of the building he was  
currently on top of. Once he regained his  
composure he headed on towards the park with new  
thoughts running in his head.  
  
Was *he* jealous?  
  
At first his mind wanted to scream, 'Of  
course not, don't be ridiculous!' But hadn't that  
been exactly what Kuwabara and Yuusuke had said  
when they had been confronted with the same  
question? It was true that he had never had to  
share Hiei's attention with anyone but Yukina, and  
sometime he still got a little jealous... OK a  
*lot* jealous of that fact.   
  
There was no reason why Hiei *shouldn't* act  
differently. In fact, his lover had been acting  
differently for nearly seventeen years now.   
Kurama realized that Hiei might have been the same  
emotionally closed person he had been when they  
first meet if it hadn't of been for Kitsuryuu's  
birth. Not that Hiei was over-pouring with  
declarations of affection now, but he was much  
more willing to admit that he had feelings. Their  
daughter's birth had effected his lover more than  
Kurama had first realized, but he was thankful  
none the less.  
  
Kurama redoubled his efforts to reach the  
park. He knew that Hiei must have reached his  
destination by now, but the air was mysteriously  
still, as if very one was holding their breath.   
He felt his lover's presence the moment after he  
stepped into the ring of trees that outlined the  
park. Hiei was somewhere in the trees above him,  
perfectly motionless. Unnerved by Hiei's caution,  
Kurama scanned the area for what was causing it,  
and caught his first real look of his daughter.  
  
About ten meters in front of him stood what  
had become the center of everyone's attention over  
the last few hours. Kitsuryuu was not in the same  
form as the picture Kurama had seen in the scrap  
book, but he could tell instantly that she was his  
daughter. He was astonished by how exactly her  
facial features mirrored his own youko form as he  
gazed into her bright red eyes.  
  
The only differences he could see was that  
her face wasn't quite as long as his, giving it a  
more feminine look, and her eyes were a bit more  
slanted, making them seem like they were half  
closed. Of course her coloring was different from  
his... a much more dramatic a contrast than his  
own silver and gold he thought. If she had of  
been born in a youko village she would have been  
the main attraction as soon as she lost the  
chubbyness of childhood.  
  
As she came closer he knew that something  
wasn't quite right about her, but he couldn't seem  
to pull his eyes away from her face. When Kurama  
had looked at the photograph the children had  
taken, there had been no real similarities to  
himself or Hiei other than her eyes, which were  
Hiei's, and her hair which was a compromise  
between his red and Hiei's black. Now that she  
was standing so close and he actually saw her, he  
felt something stir inside him.  
  
Earlier, when he had realized exactly who  
Kitsuryuu was, he had felt little towards the  
unknown girl. All his emotions had been set on  
Hiei and their newborn son. All though he was  
relieved that his first born child was not dead,  
his emotions were mainly centered around the fact  
that Hiei could finally stop blaming himself.   
  
For the first time since Kurama found out  
that he had a daughter she became real to him.   
Before she had just been an idea, a piece of  
information that he had to digest, an image that  
had no substance. When he had overheard Hiei's  
confession about Kitsuryuu's 'death' he had been  
upset, not because of her death, but of the fact  
that Hiei hadn't told him.  
  
The same was true of Kyuukai, but the moment  
he had found his son and Hiei in the cave the  
connection between them had been almost  
instantaneous. Kyuukai had been right there for  
him to see and touch. His son was starting a new  
life and knew no one but his fathers. Kitsuryuu,  
on the other hand, was almost a grown woman that  
had already made a place for herself in the world,  
and that had only made it harder for him to become  
attached to her.  
  
Somehow seeing her now, so close to him that  
he could almost touch her, looking back at him  
with his own face, knowing that anyone that looked  
at her could not mistake her for being anyone  
else's daughter, made her real to him. He could  
feel himself puff up with pride at how beautiful  
she was, of how strong she had to be to have  
survived all this time on her own.   
  
Kurama stared at his daughter as she  
approached him, taking in her single length hair  
that fell to her waist in a curtain of shimmering,  
ice blue. Her eyes were the exact same color as  
Hiei's, but they were not alive with his internal  
fire. Kitsuryuu's eyes looked more like chips of  
colored ice and the look in them matched the  
coldness of her face. As beautiful as her face  
was, the mask of cool indifference she wore had a  
wakening effect on her stunned father.  
  
Kurama only had a moment to think about how  
similar the look Kitsuryuu wore now looked like  
his own youko form when he was getting ready to  
kill when he saw her reach into her hair. A small  
pair of hands grabbed his waist and pushed him  
down.  
  
The ice rose that Kitsuryuu threw just barely  
missed his left eye as it sliced through the soft  
skin at his temple and then struck the high part  
of his ear. The razor sharp stem of the rose  
ripped through the thin cartilage and nearly took  
his entire ear with it. The frozen flower  
embedded itself in the tree behind him with a  
hollow thunk. Kurama was sure that if he had not  
of been moved out of the way, that the rose would  
have been sticking out of the middle of his  
forehead right now.   
  
"Were you just going to let her kill you,  
idiot?" Hiei hissed as he tried to push his still  
dazed lover off of him.  
  
Kurama looked down at Hiei pinned beneath him  
and quickly sat back on his heels. The irate fire  
demon got up and gave him a reproachful look for  
letting his guard down. Kurama was still too  
stunned to respond properly and turned to look at  
his daughter once more.  
  
Kitsuryuu stood only three meters from them  
with the same cold, hard expression on her face.   
She raised her right hand, fist closed, and looked  
at something behind them. Both Kurama and Hiei  
realized what she was about to do and made a leap  
for the branches above.  
  
As Kitsuryuu opened her hand the rose that  
had been forgotten exploded into a crisscrossing  
of thick vines of pure ice. Hiei turned in mid  
flight and sent a column of jet black fire down to  
melt the living ice. Kurama watched amazed as  
Kitsuryuu's vines skillfully avoided Hiei's attack  
by twisting to the side and bypassing it. His  
lover had no time to launch another wave before  
the ice vines reached him. They wrapped  
themselves around him and as quickly as they could  
carried him off out of sight. Kurama was not so  
lucky.   
  
One set of the frozen vines reached him just  
as he landed on a branch and used their agile and  
limber lengths to tie him to it. Before Kurama  
even had a chance to look up he sensed something  
very large and deadly coming his way. Without  
turning he summoned his own plants to form a  
barbed short sword and cut himself from the ice  
vines. He made a quick leap just as a Venus  
flytrap type plant made of ice bit into the branch  
he had just vacated, turning it into toothpick  
sized splinters.  
  
Kurama spared a glance at his daughter  
turned opponent and once again looked into her  
eyes. The emotionless look of ice was gone and in  
its place was anger and frustration and just a  
little bit of fear. It was obvious by Kitsuryuu's  
rapid and hard hitting attacks that she knew that  
he was stronger than she was. His daughter was  
trying to take him out as fast as she could, but  
at the same time she had been protecting Hiei.  
  
Kurama had not missed the fact that the vines  
that carried his lover off were smooth and  
thornless, unlike the ones sent his way that had  
ripped into his pants leg and tore his skin. It  
seemed that Kitsuryuu had a favorite parent, and  
he wasn't it.  
  
Kitsuryuu raised her hands again and drew in  
a very slow, shallow breath. The collar around  
her throat glowed a bright white and accented her  
long neck. Kurama waited patiently for her to  
make a move as the light showed her twisted,  
beautiful features in a harsh light, hoping he  
could find a way around it to stop her. Before  
she could summon any more of her ice plants  
Maryoku came to her side and grabbed her arm.  
  
Kitsuryuu turned her attention from Kurama to  
look at the boy as he verbally and visually begged  
her to stop. Kurama had once taken a sign  
language class in school as one of his many  
electives and understood what Maryoku was saying,  
but not why he was signing it. He took this brief  
moment to really look his daughter over from head  
to toe.  
  
She was tall, taller than Maryoku by almost a  
head, and the clothes she wore were obviously not  
hers. The jeans were too short, showing a lot of  
skin above her ankle and too tight around her hips  
and thighs. Her white T-shirt was over sized and  
tended to fall over one of her shoulders when she  
moved. As he looked at her Kurama knew that he  
was missing something, but he just couldn't put  
his finger on it.  
  
Kitsuryuu's face soften slightly as she let  
Maryoku rant and rage beside her. With one hand  
she swept her long hair from her face and back  
over the top of her head so that she could see the  
boy better. That was when Kurama realized that it  
wasn't him that was missing something... it was  
Kitsuryuu. She had no ears.  
  
Kurama quickly surveyed his daughter and  
found that yes, she did not have ears nor a tail.   
It should have been apparent immediately, but he  
had been so stunned by her face that he hadn't  
bothered to look else where. Kurama sat on his  
perch stupefied at what could have possibly  
happened to his daughter to cause this  
disfigurement. Ears and tails just don't fall  
off.   
  
In Kurama's new state of shock he did not see  
Kitsuryuu summon a large flower that resembled a  
gigantic daisy on steroids. The gentle ice bloom  
grabbed Maryoku from behind and used its long,  
thin petals to hold him kicking and thrashing  
above Kitsuryuu's head.   
  
Maryoku's loud and colorful curses woke  
Kurama from his stupor. It seemed to Kurama that  
Yuusuke's son had mastered the fine Uramashi  
talent of 'if a woman doesn't listen to you,  
insult her'. Just as Kurama was about to launch  
himself from his branch to the ground to confront  
Kitsuryuu, several long, needle thin ice thorns  
pierced his back from behind.  
  
Kurama's eyes widened in surprise as he  
realized that Kitsuryuu had used Maryoku's  
distraction to her advantage by sending one of her  
ice plants behind him while he was watching the  
scene below. One thing was for certain, she was  
just as sneaky and tenuous as her fathers were.  
Kurama decided that he needed to end this fight as  
quickly as possible, and the best way to do that  
was to simply over power her.  
  
He let his body reform itself into his youko  
form as he jumped to the ground. His speed and  
agility increased instantly along with his power  
level. As soon as his feet hit the ground he  
launched one of his sharply thorned roses at  
Kitsuryuu, hoping to knock her off her guard. It  
worked... a little too well.  
  
Kurama realized too late that he had  
surprised Kitsuryuu as badly as she had surprised  
him. She had started walking towards him when he  
had changed in mid air, and even after the rose  
had been sent on its way she did not change her  
course. Kitsuryuu didn't even try to stop or  
dodge the flower as it sailed through the air and  
entered her shoulder. The impact of the rose  
staggered her, but she remained on her feet.  
  
Kurama could only watch dumbly as his  
daughter approached him, his rose resting in her  
like a misplaced boutonniere as she stumbled and  
dragged her way over. Kurama saw that she was  
favoring her left leg and remembered what his  
brother had told him about her injuries. He  
noticed that her chest and throat seemed to spasm  
and that the collar glowed brighter and brighter  
with every step she took.  
  
Kitsuryuu stopped when she came toe to toe  
with him and finally looked up into his face. Her  
eyes were wide with wonder as she reached her  
hands up to trace the length of each of his furry  
ears. Immediately he saw that her lips were as  
blue as her hair, indicating that she had stopped  
breathing for quite some time. He placed his  
hands on her upper arms as her eyes started to  
drift closed. Within seconds Kitsuryuu had  
completely passed out.   
  
He lowered her down and immediately felt for  
a pulse at her throat. The collar threw off a  
large blot of electricity when his hand came near,  
singeing his fingertips and making Kitsuryuu's  
unconscious body jerk. He reached for her wrist  
instead and found a slow, weak rhythm.  
  
"Kitsuryuu!"   
  
Kurama heard Maryoku's anguished cry the  
second before the sound of shattering ice echoed  
through the park. Maryoku ran over to where they  
were and cursed vividly when he saw the condition  
Kitsuryuu was in.  
  
"Give her to me, Kurama!" Maryoku demanded  
accusingly as he forced her from his grasp.  
  
For some odd reason Kurama couldn't get his  
brain working for more than a few minutes at a  
time tonight and Maryoku easily took his daughter  
from him. He watched, feeling totally and  
completely helpless, as Kitsuryuu's self-made  
champion re-checked her pulse and then listened to  
her chest. Maryoku frowned and then looked at his  
watch.  
  
"It's been too long. She should have started  
breathing again by now," the boy stated to no one  
in particular.  
  
Kurama was barely aware of Yuusuke dragging  
an injured Kuwabara over to them, but he knew the  
instant Hiei came back. His lover's anger made  
the air around them crackle with unused power.   
Hiei knelt by his daughter and started to reach  
for her when he saw the rose. His eyes narrowed  
slightly and he looked at Kurama.  
  
"Hiei, I didn't..."  
  
"Later," he stated, dismissing Kurama's weak  
protest.  
  
Kurama couldn't tell if Hiei was angry or  
not, but he knew that the subject was closed as  
far as his lover was concerned. Maryoku cursed,  
looked at his watch and felt for Kitsuryuu's pulse  
again. The worry was evident on his face as he  
rolled up sleeves.  
  
"What's going on? What wrong with her?" Hiei  
demanded of the boy.  
  
"That damn collar of hers kicked in about ten  
minutes ago. If she had of been left alone she  
would have simply passed out and the collar would  
have turned itself off. This time she fought it.   
Now she's so weak that she can't even summon  
enough power to breath."  
  
Before anyone could stop him Maryoku reached  
out and put his hands around Kitsuryuu's throat.   
Electricity arced up his arms in bright white  
bolts that singed his hair as it burned his hands.   
Maryoku held his eyes tightly shut and bit his lip  
to keep from screaming. Kurama wasn't quite sure  
what the boy was up to until he heard Kitsuryuu  
take a ragged breath.  
  
Yuusuke tackled his son away from the girl on  
the ground and held him there as he struggled.   
The smell of burnt flesh was heavy in the air and  
blood flowed from Maryoku's burned palms, but the  
boy fought with all his worth to get back to  
Kitsuryuu.  
  
"Damn it, let me go!" he screamed at his  
father.  
  
"Let someone else do this, Maryoku!"  
  
"Don't you think you've done enough?!"   
  
Kurama could see that Yuusuke was stricken by  
what his son had said, but he didn't loosen his  
grasp. While the two of them where fighting Hiei  
had pulled Kitsuryuu's head into his lap and  
placed his hands against the collar. Even though  
Hiei was infinitely stronger than Maryoku, he  
still grimaced as the collar reacted to his  
presence.  
  
Kitsuryuu's first few breaths were forced and  
labored but quickly gained strength and  
regularity. Soon her skin lost its blue cast and  
return to pale cream. Maryoku managed to extract  
himself from his father's slacking grasp and  
crawled over to Kitsuryuu and Hiei. The two of  
them exchanged a look that was not easily  
interpreted just before the boy ran the back of  
his hand across Kitsuryuu's cheek.  
  
"Damn, stubborn fox," Maryoku whispered with  
a smile.  
  
"They do tend to be that way, don't they?"  
Hiei responded with a look to his lover.  
  
Kurama didn't answer, there was no need to.   
Hiei knew him better than anyone alive.  
----------------------------------  
  
Botan eased herself back from the shadows and  
summoned her oar now that she knew that Kitsuryuu  
was going to be taken care of. Koenma had sent  
her after this wayward youkai after he had looked  
over her case file, hoping that she could keep the  
girl out of more trouble until the paper work had  
been processed.  
  
Kitsuryuu's folder had been unceremoniously  
flopped on Koenma's desk after the young girl had  
leveled the hospital and killed twenty humans.   
Normally Koenma didn't have to involve himself  
with the affairs of the living, but in this case  
Kitsuryuu had broken a Reikai law and it could not  
be ignored. Kitsuryuu had killed fifteen humans  
whose time to die was not forth coming for quite a  
long time. The penalty for this crime was death.  
  
Instead of stamping his approval on the order  
and letting it be processed normally, Koenma  
became intrigued at how Kitsuryuu could have  
possibly been in that situation and looked up her  
history. He had found that she had been abandoned  
as a newborn infant, suffered some horrible  
atrocities in her short life, but had never  
knowingly attacked a human. The hunters that had  
tortured her when she was six were justified by  
Reikai laws, plus their life time had been over.  
  
Koenma decided that Kitsuryuu didn't really  
deserved death for being a victim of bad  
circumstances, so he researched and found a loop  
hole so that she could escape punishment. He  
found an ancient law that was never used anymore,  
but still on the books. It said that 'a child  
born not with parents that passes its fifthteenth  
year in innocence that takes a life in innocence  
is not to be blamed, but is to be taken in and  
raised in the right of the law'.   
  
Since Kitsuryuu was an orphan and had no  
parents to claim her, nearly seventeen and a text  
book innocent the law could be easily made to fit  
her, all Koenma had to do was to take her in.   
That was the paper work that Botan was waiting  
for. Once that order for Kitsuryuu's adoption was  
processed correctly she would be a ward of the  
Reikai and Koenma's adopted daughter, and then no  
one would be able to prosecute her for those  
deaths.  
  
It was really very simple and as long as no  
one protested, the whole situation would be  
overlooked. Koenma would allow Kitsuryuu to  
choose were she wished to live (after she was  
properly educated and taught the 'right of the  
law' of course), and all would be forgotten.   
Besides, who would possibly protest? Botan angled  
her oar towards the Reikai so that she could  
report on Kitsuryuu's condition.  
  
================  
end chapter 18 


	19. nineteenA

Well, folks... I'm not entirely sure what has  
happened to my editor, but I can't hold on to this  
chapter any more. Now you guys will see why I  
don't like to send out a chapter that doesn't have  
Windlily's blessing! Part a of chapter 19 had  
been edited by her but part b hasn't. I hope you  
guys can still understand it!  
  
  
The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 19  
written by Kat Mayes  
edited by Windlily  
  
Yukina smoothed the covers over Keiko's  
soundly sleeping form and gave a sigh of envy.   
She had a good idea what was coming their way in  
the next few hours and was glad she had insisted  
that Keiko let her 'put her to sleep'. She wished  
that she could escape the coming chaos that  
easily. Yukina shook her head at her own  
selfishness and stood from the bed. It wasn't  
Keiko's fault that the baby took so much out of  
her. In fact, the human woman had fought to the  
last moment to stay awake until her husband  
returned.   
  
Yukina knew the growing exhaustion Keiko felt  
was because of the babe within her. Keiko had so  
far kept the extent of her weakened condition well  
hidden from her children and Yuusuke. Both she  
and Keiko had talked extensively about Keiko's  
pregnancy with Shuuichi before Keiko told anyone  
else she was with child again. Yukina and  
Shuuichi had reluctantly promised, for Yuusuke's  
sake, to keep quite about the toll the baby was  
taking on her. In return (and under the threat  
that they would tell Yuusuke) Keiko had promised  
to do everything the two of them asked of her to  
keep both herself and the baby healthy.   
  
Yukina knew that Keiko had gotten very  
little, if any, sleep since the whole  
Hiei/Kyuukai/Kitsuryuu thing had started and this  
forced nap was sorely needed. Yukina pulled the  
door closed behind her and leaned against it  
momentarily. She closed her eyes and took a long  
cleansing breath. There were only three things in  
this world that had the power to shake the inner  
calm that was a part of her Koorimei heritage.   
One was knowing that Kazuma was hurt. Another was  
knowing that her brother was distressed, and the  
last was knowing that her children were hurt or  
distressed. It was a rare occasion for all three  
to happen at once.  
  
She had just gotten off the phone with  
Yuusuke, who had called to let her know who was  
injured and their estimated time of arrival.   
Again Yukina thanked her lucky star that Keiko was  
already asleep when the phone call had come in or  
she would have never convinced her friend to lay  
down. With one last, deep sigh Yukina headed down  
the hall and back into the chaos she had left  
there.   
  
She was half-way down the hall when she heard  
Arashi and Mechiko verbally fighting in what they  
considered quiet voices. Her son was insisting  
that he be the one to help his father and Mechiko  
was none to gently reminding him that he had no  
healing powers what so ever. As Yukina came into  
the living room she found Arashi and Mechiko with  
their hands on each others' collars getting ready  
to back up their arguments with a few well placed  
punches. She also found Kiseki on the floor, legs  
crossed under him and eyes tightly closed. Yukina  
could feel her son focusing and storing all his  
healing power so that he could help her when the  
hurt came home.  
  
Yukina knew from Yuusuke's phone call that  
all of them, except for Hiei, needed some form of  
medical attention. Yuusuke, Kazuma, Kurama and  
Maryoku were only lightly injured and between  
Kiseki and Fuyu's healing powers should be easily  
taken care of, but Kitsuryuu was another story.   
Yuusuke had no clue how badly the girl was hurt  
and Yukina thought it was best that she take care  
of Kitsuryuu herself.  
  
Ignoring the rising hostility in the room,  
Yukina walked past the fighting teens and placed a  
hand on Kiseki's cheek. He opened his lovely pink  
eyes and looked at her through the feathery  
lavender of his bangs. She gave her son an  
encouraging smile and swept one side of his  
shoulder length bangs behind his ear so that she  
could see his face better. Last year Kiseki had  
asked her to not shorten his bangs when she cut  
his hair and she had agreed, even though it drove  
her quietly insane to see his hair in his face as  
it was growing out. Yukina now admitted that the  
new hair style had been a good choice. With  
Kiseki's coloring it was hard for him to look  
anything but extremely young, and this style went  
a long way in making him look his age, if not  
older.   
  
Yukina watched her son try and return her  
smile and saw the worry that marred his handsome  
young face. That sad smile reminded her of how  
important Kitsuryuu had become to these children.   
Her heart ached for them, and especially for her  
youngest. Her baby, that at this very moment, was  
in her room dreaming nightmares after having cried  
herself to sleep.  
  
Yukina patted Kiseki's head like she had done  
when he was a small child and got a roll of his  
light pink eyes for her effort. Yukina hid her  
smile and continued on to the kitchen, reassured  
that for a brief moment she had allowed her son to  
forget his worries. She had to force her smile to  
stay in place as she entered the kitchen and saw  
Fuyu in the exact same position she had left her  
in when she had gone to check on Keiko.  
  
Fuyu was also showing signs of stress. In  
times of crisis Fuyu always tried to become the  
peacemaker. Yukina had to stop a major fight  
between Fuyu and her twin when Fuyu tried to get  
between Mechiko and Arashi. To save her  
daughter's conscious Yukina had asked the young  
girl to watch Kyuukai for her.   
  
Fuyu sat in one of the kitchen chairs a meter  
away from the open oven with her hands folded  
demurely in her lap as she watched the sleeping  
infant in his broiler pan inside. Yukina sighed  
at her daughter's woebegone expression and  
followed Fuyu's line of sight. She saw that  
Kyuukai hadn't moved either. Some maternal  
instinct inside of Yukina cringed at the idea of a  
baby being in a major kitchen appliance, but with  
all the heat Kyuukai had been generating it had  
been the only place they could put him so that he  
wouldn't burn the house down.   
  
She and Keiko had ruined several pairs of  
oven mitts in their attempts to hold the infant.   
They had started to become desperate when they  
were down to the last pair of mitts. Then Mechiko  
had jokingly told them to put Kyuukai in a large  
roasting pan. At the time the idea didn't sound  
too absurd. They had put Kyuukai in the pan and  
for awhile it had worked, until the infant began  
to heat up so much that the counter top under him  
began to scorch. Without really thinking about it  
Yukina had quickly placed her nephew in the oven  
and the problem had been temporarily solved.  
  
Yukina tried to hide the worry she felt for  
her nephew as she gazed at the utterly still  
infant. Kyuukai had not moved at all since he had  
changed into his youko form. The only sounds he  
had made the whole time his parents had been gone  
was a high pitched yipe and one strangled whimper.   
Yukina did not know what to do for him. She  
couldn't comfort him in her arms, or touch him to  
see if he was in any kind of pain. Kyuukai needed  
his father, but that wasn't possible right now so  
she had to try and make the best of it.  
  
Yukina went and stood next to her daughter,  
and even though the girl was seated, their heights  
were nearly identical. Yukina put her hand out  
and gave a gentle tug on Fuyu's neck, bringing her  
daughter's head over to rest on her shoulder.   
Fuyu gave a sigh and let her mother indulge  
herself in comforting her. Yukina wasn't fooled  
by her polite children. She knew that they all  
thought (with the exception of Koori) that they  
were too old to be treated like this. They only  
allowed it because it comforted her also.  
  
"Why don't you help Kiseki gather bandages  
and medicine for when your father comes home.   
I'll watch Kyuukai."  
  
Fuyu gave a nod of her gently held head and  
then extracted herself from her mother. Yukina  
watched her leave and then sat in the chair Fuyu  
had just vacated. She could hear a short exchange  
between Fuyu and Arashi, but when nothing more was  
said Yukina turned her attention to Kyuukai.   
  
Yukina's nephew was still in a tight fetal  
curl with his black-tipped, bushy, red tail hugged  
firmly between his arms. From her position Yukina  
could barely make out Kyuukai's folded ears and  
short red hair. She gave a sigh of frustration  
and looked around her messy kitchen.  
  
All of their evening dishes had been washed,  
but when the men had rushed out of the house with  
barely a word they had been left forgotten on the  
counter top. That would have been fine except  
that when Mechiko had tried to pull the roasting  
pan from the top self she had knocked the  
carefully balanced pile onto the floor. That was  
the first domino to fall.  
  
Arashi had started to tease and Mechiko got  
angry. The two of them started to fight, Keiko  
got between and had started screaming at them  
both, then Fuyu got between them and had started  
fighting with her brother. Kiseki had come in at  
that moment with a sobbing Koori in his arms  
asking what he should do for her. Unable to stand  
the noise or the level of traffic into her damaged  
kitchen any longer, Yukina had stopped the insane  
turn of events the best way she knew how. With  
hardly a thought she had brought the temperature  
in the room to well below comfortable levels and  
within seconds they all...stopped.  
  
Yukina had to take several deep breaths to  
keep herself from yelling, and then calmly  
instructed the now waiting mob. She assigned Fuyu  
to watch Kyuukai and sent Mechiko and Arashi into  
the living room. She gave Kiseki the mission of  
putting his little sister to bed and once the kids  
were taken care of Yukina had commanded Keiko to  
lay down. It had taken almost a half an hour to  
get Keiko to physically lay in the bed, but once  
she did she instantly fell asleep. Yukina wasn't  
able to rest just yet, however.  
  
Yuusuke's phone call came almost at the exact  
moment that Keiko had fallen asleep.   
Unfortunately, Mechiko had been the first to the  
phone and only a sharp command from her father and  
a strong tug on the receiver by Yukina had  
dislocated the phone from her grip. The kids had  
hovered around her, waiting, as she listened to  
Yuusuke's list of injured. She had squirmed under  
the close scrutiny, feeling like some kind of  
science specimen under a microscope.  
  
Knowing that she would never be able to get  
anything done until she told them what Yuusuke had  
said, Yukina informed the children of the  
situation. All of them had been silent when she  
gave the news and Yukina had seen profound emotion  
cloud their young faces. Each of them had been  
relieved that their fathers and uncles were not  
hurt badly, but they all reacted differently to  
the news of Kitsuryuu's situation.   
  
They all had seemed very concerned, but  
Arashi had quickly hid his worry by lashing out at  
Kitsuryuu and her involvement in his father's  
injuries. Mechiko had been quick to defend their  
youko friend and Fuyu had been equally fast in  
trying to step in between them. Kiseki had  
silently withdrawn from the group, preferring to  
work out his worries on his own.   
  
Yukina had seen another fight brewing and  
sent the kids back to the living room and kitchen  
respectively. Worried that the noise Arashi and  
Mechiko had made had awakened Keiko, Yukina had  
checked on her one more time.  
  
It seemed to her like the events of this  
evening had happened only moments ago, but by the  
light coming over the horizon Yukina knew that the  
night had flown by them. She took another  
dejected look around her kitchen and in the corner  
of the room caught a glance of the portraits the  
kids had shown them in the dojo.  
  
A smile crept across her worried and tried  
face at the sheer beauty and love that had been  
put into those pictures. It was obvious by the  
care that was put into each painting that  
Kitsuryuu thought the world of the children and  
that knowledge went a long way to settle the  
anxiety she had felt about the secrets the kids  
had been keeping about Kitsuryuu.  
  
A long shaft of morning light came through  
the back door and illuminated the canvases. In  
all of the excitement of the evening, only the  
original two portraits were still uncovered. The  
rest were still holding their secrets behind  
thick, white clothes. Yukina felt a rare rush of  
curiosity and left her post in front of the oven  
and walked over to them.  
  
She was most of the way there when she saw  
something odd in the pattern of swirls on the  
painting of Arashi and Fuyu. Yukina stopped where  
she was and took a moment to examine the portrait  
in the soft morning light. Yukina just shrugged  
her shoulders and thought it was her imagination  
when she didn't immediately see it again. She  
averted her eyes slightly, looking at the other  
painting, then suddenly saw it again. In the  
array of colors on Arashi's side was a barely  
discernible eye and ear of some kind of animal.  
  
This prompted Yukina to look even closer and,  
sure enough, hidden in the swirls of snowflakes on  
Fuyu's side was the matching ear and eye. If she  
tilted her head just right and forgot about the  
two main figures, Yukina could see the entire top  
of what looked like a fox's head.  
  
Now that she could clearly see the fox head,  
Yukina concentrated on the eyes and found them to  
be strangely haunting, as if they were able to see  
her. It wasn't frightening, but the intensity of  
the painted stare gave her pause to wonder just  
how protective the children's youko friend was.  
  
Now extremely curious, she quickly pulled out  
the next picture, the one of Mechiko and examined  
it. It took her a few minuets, but Yukina finally  
located an image of a fox in the criss-crossing  
ribbons in Mechiko's hair. Her need to know if  
the other portraits hid similar ghosts made Yukina  
rip off the covering of the next picture.   
  
This one was of her oldest son, Kiseki. She  
completely ignored the stunning work that depicted  
her son siting by a softly babbling stream and  
searched for the fox. Again it was well hidden,  
but she found it in the shadows of trees behind  
Kiseki. This fox image was more defined than the  
other two in that it actually looked like a fox  
hiding in the woods, trying to go unnoticed.  
  
The next white sheet went flying to join the  
other as Yukina uncloaked Maryoku's portrait. It  
was a exacting likeness of the boy and very  
appropriate for his nature, but that was lost on  
Yukina as she searched for the fox she knew to be  
there. This one was easier to find because she  
had become accustomed to how Kitsuryuu hid herself  
in the paintings. In the branches above the image  
of Yuusuke's son reading one of his many text  
books in his neatly pressed and perfect school  
uniform was a fox curled on a limb, watching.  
  
Only one portrait remained and when Yukina  
unveiled it she was very surprised. There was no  
fox cleverly hidden in the background of *this*  
picture, guarding from a distance. Right dead  
center of this painting was her own young daughter  
with her arms wrapped tightly around the kitsune's  
neck from underneath. Koori was smiling that  
charming, crooked smile that she had inherited  
from her uncle as she pulled down on the fox and  
the fox was giving a clear-cut warning to stay  
away.   
  
In all five pictures it was obvious that  
Kitsuryuu was watching over the children in her  
own unique way. Yukina felt herself warm to this  
young lady that she had never met. This whole  
evening had been the result of Kitsuryuu trying to  
protect the children from the punishment they  
would receive. Yukina had pride in the fact that  
she could see a person's true character behind  
whatever barrier they place in front of themselves  
and she knew in her heart that this girl was  
special.  
  
There was still one picture left to be  
uncovered, but just as Yukina was about to unwrap  
it Arashi and Mechiko came crashing into the  
kitchen. The two of them were wrestling on the  
floor, scattering pots and pans across the room.   
Mechiko's eyes held a silver glow that frightened  
Yukina in its intensity. Her own son's hands were  
outlined in the bright yellow that always  
accompanied the power he inherited from his  
father. The last portrait was completely  
forgotten as Yukina rushed forward to stop the  
dangerously out of control fight. However someone  
else beat her to it.  
  
The kitchen door banged open and both of the  
teens instantly stopped to see who was there. The  
mystery person stepped into the light shinning in  
through the window and revealed itself to be  
Kurama's mother. Shiori walked in to the house  
with a disapproving frown on her elegantly aged  
face and a huge bouquet of fragrant, white roses  
in her arms. She silently handed Yukina the  
flowers and approached Arashi and Mechiko as they  
scrambled to their feet.  
  
"Great-aunt Shiori!" the two of them  
exclaimed in unison.  
  
"Don't, 'Great-aunt Shiori' me, young ones.   
What is the meaning of all this?" she said as she  
gestured around the room.  
  
The kids had the grace to look ashamed as  
they too realized the mess they had made. Arashi  
and Mechiko looked at each other and then at  
Shiori and simultaneously started to talk. Even  
though Yukina knew exactly what had been happening  
all evening she was instantly given a headache as  
she tried to follow the events the two of them  
laid out. It didn't seem to affect Shiori at all  
as she nodded at appropriate moments and shook her  
head sadly at others.  
  
Before the children could continue to absolve  
themselves of any wrong doing Shiori raised her  
hand to silence them. It always amazed Yukina how  
much power this one simple, human woman had.   
Without ever trying Shiori was always able to make  
you feel like she was your mother and the respect  
that always came with that feeling followed.  
  
"I don't care who started what, but both of  
you should know better. Instead of fighting you  
should be helping Yukina," Shiori reprimand softly  
as Arashi and Mechiko hung their heads.  
  
Shiori closed the small distance between  
herself and the children and placed one hand each  
of their shoulders. She smiled at them when they  
looked up at her. Arashi and Mechiko visibly  
relaxed and grinned back, but when they tried to  
move away Shiori's grip on them remained firm.  
  
"Since you two have so much energy to burn,  
how about you helping me with a few things."  
  
It wasn't a question, but a softly veiled  
command that neither of the children thought twice  
about saying no to. They nodded their heads in  
perfect unison and awaited their assignments.  
  
"Shuuichi told me some of what was going on,  
so I brought the food so that Yukina wouldn't  
have to worry herself over cooking. Mechiko,  
dear, why don't you go to the car and bring the  
hot things in so we can put it in the oven to stay  
warm."  
  
"We can't," Mechiko informed her quickly.  
  
"Why not?" Shiori asked with a puzzled look  
on her face.  
  
Mechiko hitched her thumb over her shoulder  
towards the oven, "'Cause Kyuukai's in there."  
  
Shiori blinked uncomprehendingly until she  
took another look at the interior of the oven.   
Yukina heard her gently spoken, 'Oh, my!', and  
cringed, knowing what the human woman must think.   
Shiori, however, reacted better than Yukina could  
have hoped for. Kurama's mother quickly restored  
her startled wits and quickly averted her eyes  
away from the oven.  
  
"Then would you please bring me the suitcase  
from the trunk of the car, also?" Shiori turned to  
Yukina as Mechiko trotted toward the door, on her  
way to do as she had been bidden, "I take it that  
my grandson takes after Hiei more than my son?"  
  
Yukina was so completely stunned by Shiori's  
easy acceptance of the situation that all she  
could do was nod in response. Yukina realized  
suddenly that she shouldn't be surprised by  
Kurama's mother anymore. Especially after the way  
the human woman had so calmly and easily accepted  
not only Hiei and Kurama's relationship, but her  
only son being a fox demon as well.  
  
"I also know from my step-son that the young  
lady everybody is looking for is injured and maybe  
sick. Have you decided where to put her, yet?"  
  
Yukina looked startled for a moment. She had  
never thought about that! She quickly scanned the  
room for something to put the beautiful flowers  
she had been given into, but was stopped by  
Shiori's strong, gentle hand.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Yukina dear. I'm sure  
Arashi and I can handle it. Right, son?" Shiori  
asked the young boy who responded by puffing up  
with pride and grinning wildly.  
  
"I think the boys' room would probably be the  
best since you must be using the extra bedroom for  
Hiei and Shuuichi. Arashi, dear, why don't you  
get started with cleaning the room and packing  
some clothes for all of you boys. I'm sure you  
boys won't mind terribly much if you have to camp  
out in the dojo for a couple of nights, right?"  
  
"No way! That'd be cool!" Arashi exclaimed  
as he rushed out the door.  
  
Shiori smiled after the boy and shook her  
head in amusement, "Where do they get all that  
energy?"  
  
"It comes from their fathers, I'm sure,"  
Yukina replied.  
  
"Then we are in for a special treat when this  
little one grows up," Shiori chuckled softly as  
she gazed into the oven.  
  
Mechiko came stomping into the kitchen before  
Yukina had a chance to agree. The teenager had a  
huge gray suitcase under one arm and the other was  
occupied with three large containers of food.   
Shiori quickly took the precariously balanced top  
container while Mechiko put the case down.  
  
"You didn't have to go through so much  
trouble, Shiori," Yukina exclaimed, remembering  
her manners as hostess.  
  
"You think this is it?!" Mechiko exclaimed in  
happy disbelief. "There are at least ten more  
containers just like these out there!"  
  
"And do bring them one at a time, Mechiko,  
dear. I don't want to have to scrape it off the  
floor."  
  
Mechiko nodded her understanding and rushed  
out to get more. Yukina stared in astonishment at  
the about of hot food that Mechiko started to  
bring in.  
  
"How could you have possibly found the time  
to fix all of these Shiori?"  
  
"Don't you remember? We were supposed to  
have a big family picnic today anyway," Shiori  
reminded the perplexed Koorimei.  
  
Understanding dawned on Yukina as she  
remembered the plans they had made several weeks  
ago. Shiori was going to bring all the main  
dishes and Yukina the side dishes and desserts.   
In fact her freezer was full of chilled yogurt  
pies.  
  
While Mechiko was bringing the food Shiori  
had put away all the scatted pots and pans. Once  
done with that she opened up the mysterious  
suitcase. Still holding the fragrant long  
stemmed, white roses, Yukina leaned over the human  
woman's shoulder to get a better look. Yukina  
started to laugh immediately.  
  
It was the famous emergency kit Kurama had  
made for his mother. Yukina had heard stories  
about it from Shiori and Kurama's brother, but she  
had assumed that they had been exaggerating about  
the extent to which Kurama had gone. The case had  
all the normal emergency things: flashlight, road  
flares, blanket, water, and car oil, but besides  
that it had: food rations, candles, rope, flare  
gun, small folding tent, pillow, cooking  
equipment, hunting knife and a strange foil  
bundle. Kurama was certainly... protective of his  
mother.  
  
Shiori pulled the silver bundle out of the  
suitcase and on Mechiko's next delivery asked her  
to return it to the car. Yukina watched her shake  
out the bundle and fold the large square of  
metallic fabric in half. Still having no idea  
what it was, Yukina followed Shiori to the oven.   
The human woman pulled out the rack with Kyuukai  
and his roasting pan and with the edges of the  
silver cloth she picked up and wrapped her  
grandson in it.  
  
"Shiori!" Yukina exclaimed as Kurama's mother  
held the infant close.  
=============  
end part a of chapter 19 


	20. nineteenB

The Forgotten Child chapter 19 part b  
  
  
  
"Don't worry, Yukina. This blanket was  
designed to withstand and deflect temperatures up  
to two thousand degrees. Come here and feel for  
yourself, you can't even tell he's hot."  
  
Yukina tentatively reach out her free hand  
and touched the blanket over Kyuukai's leg. Even  
with Yukina's sensitivity to heat she couldn't  
feel any of the radiant energy she knew her nephew  
was generating. She pulled her hand away when  
Shiori repositioned Kyuukai so that he was safely  
nestled on her shoulder. For the first time all  
evening the infant relaxed from his tight fetal  
possession and gave a small contented sigh.  
  
"Yukina, why don't you clean up in here and  
I'll go help Arashi with the boys' room," Shiori  
suggested just as Mechiko came in with the last of  
the food.   
  
"Mechiko dear, come with me and we can get  
this done a lot faster."  
  
Once again left alone in her chaotic kitchen,  
Yukina first found the crystal flower vase Kurama  
had given her and Kazuma at their wedding and  
placed Shiori's roses in it. After carefully  
arranging the perfect, thornless roses, Yukina  
placed them in the center of the table so that  
everybody could see them.   
  
Yukina started cleaning the kitchen by  
picking up the pots and pans and rinsing them  
before putting them away. She put all the food in  
its appropriate place and on several occasions she  
had to avoid running into Arashi and Mechiko as  
they started moving bedding and clothes out to the  
dojo. Somewhere along the line Kiseki and Fuyu  
got into the act and suddenly the house was a blur  
of activity as Shiori directed the children with  
military precession.  
  
After the kitchen was straitened to her  
satisfaction Yukina moved to the boys' room to see  
what the tiny army had done. The room was cleaner  
than Yukina had ever seen it. The boys were never  
very messy, Maryoku made sure of that. In fact,  
the boys where normally neater than the girls, but  
now the room was immaculate. Not one stray paper  
could be seen anywhere. All that remained in the  
boys' normally crowded room were their dressers,  
one futon and the posters on the wall.   
  
The remaining futon was Maryoku's and  
replacing the midnight blue bedding he usually had  
where pristine white covers. Shiori was sitting  
on the corner of the bed closest to the window  
rocking Kyuukai on her shoulder singing a human  
lullaby that Yukina was unfamiliar with. The two  
of them made such a peaceful picture that Yukina  
didn't even notice that her husband and brother  
were back until the yelling started.  
  
"YUKINA!"  
  
It was the first time Yukina had ever heard  
her brother say her name quite like that. It was  
clearly a command that Hiei fully expected her to  
answer to. The tone of his voice was dangerous  
and threatening but underlining that was a touch  
of fear.   
  
"I'm in the boys' room , Hiei!" she called  
out to him as she readied herself and the bed.  
  
Yukina had just flipped back the covers to  
receive its patient when her brother came through  
the door. The look on Hiei's grim face made her  
heart leap. Even though Hiei and Yukina had been  
separated for most of their lives, Yukina felt  
that she knew her brother reasonably well.   
  
Hiei was like a tree made of iron that never  
bends until there is something out there strong  
enough to knock him on his butt. Nothing ever  
seemed to shake Hiei up, until now. Yukina could  
find none of her brother's normal rock sure  
confidence that he usually radiated when he walked  
into a room. Instead she saw a man that was  
deeply worried.   
  
Yukina had very little time to reflect on her  
brother because Kurama quickly followed and she  
got her first big surprise of the evening. Not  
only was Kurama in his youko form, which was  
highly unusual, but the young lady that he had  
cradled in his arms was his mirror image.   
  
Kitsuryuu hung limp and lifeless in Kurama's  
gentle arms and from the irregular rise and fall  
of her chest Yukina new the girl's breathing was  
severely hindered. Yukina quelled her desire to  
ask her brother-in-law why this young girl, that  
he previously knew nothing about, was practically  
his twin and directed Kurama to place Kitsuryuu on  
the bed.  
  
Kurama gave a quick nod and then careful  
placed the unconscious youko where he was told.   
The tenderness with which Kurama placed Kitsuryuu  
on the white sheets spoke volumes to Yukina. The  
silver haired youko treated the young girl as if  
she were made of finely spun glass ready to  
shattered at the slightest wrong move.   
  
Kurama moved away with reluctance and Yukina  
knelt at the girl's side and closed her eyes to  
focus. Yukina had always been an accomplished  
healer, but it wasn't until she had found her twin  
that she was able to concentrate on the arts of  
healing. She had learned many techniques from  
Genkai and Botan, and she had learned that it  
really didn't matter how much power a healer had,  
but how they used it.  
  
Confident that she was ready, Yukina placed  
her small hands on Kitsuryuu's forehead and got  
her second and third big shock of the evening.   
Yukina immediately felt the collar around the  
girl's neck pull and drain the power from her  
fingers. It seemed the collar could not discern  
the difference between the power that Kitsuryuu  
generated and an outside power. The greedy strap  
of warded leather was indiscriminately pulling  
energy form the strongest source, which just  
happened to be Yukina.  
  
Yukina had to pull her hands away quickly, or  
risk having it drain her completely, but in those  
few brief moments she had seen something  
incredible and unbelievable. Kitsuryuu was  
Koorimei. Yukina knew it in every fiber of her  
being, but she still couldn't believe it. The  
idea was so overwhelming that all she could do was  
sit and stare.  
  
The Koorimei where a race of demon created by  
the goddess Yukionna. Yukionna hated men so much  
that she had created a race that was entirely made  
up of females and she was vain enough to make all  
of them in her image. All Koorimei were her  
descendants and followers and therefor they kept  
her laws. Which included killing all males born.   
What Yukina saw before her was an impossibility, a  
female Koorimei that didn't look like a Koorimei,  
that didn't act like a female Koorimei and  
certainly wasn't built like a female Koorimei.  
  
"Yukina, what's wrong?!" Hiei demanded when  
she didn't move.  
  
"The... the collar is draining me. I can't  
get around it," she told him after a brief  
hesitation.  
  
Hiei came to the end of the futon where  
Kitsuryuu's head rested, having to push Kurama out  
of the way to do so. At first Kurama seemed  
unwilling to move but Hiei left him no choice, the  
fox demon either moved or got knocked down.   
  
Yukina watch Kurama's shoulders slump just  
slightly as he turned away from Kitsuryuu and  
headed towards his mother. He changed to his  
human appearance and stood beside the human woman  
that had given him his second life. Shiori  
reached out her free hand and stroked her son's  
face lovingly as she continued to rock Kyuukai.   
  
Probably for the first time since he entered  
the room Kurama really looked at Shiori. A small  
smile curved his lips as he reached out and  
fingered the silver material that his son was  
wrapped in. Shiori leaned forward and whispered  
something in Kurama's ear and his smile grew a  
little wider.  
  
"Yukina!"  
  
Hiei's impatient demand shocked Yukina out of  
her dream like state and into action. She turned  
to find that Hiei was bypassing the collar  
allowing her to work on her patient. The  
irregular breathing Kitsuryuu had displayed  
earlier was gone. Yukina swept the hair from the  
girl's face and was struck again by how much she  
resembled Kurama.  
  
"I need a place to start. Where was she  
hurt?" she asked her brother.  
  
When she didn't get an immediate answer,  
Yukina turned to find that Hiei was lost in his  
own thoughts. It was evident by the way he was  
gazing down at Kitsuryuu and by the way he  
continued to lightly rub his thumb against the  
girl's throat that he had not heard her. Yukina  
desperately wanted to ask him who this girl was  
that had captured not only the children's fickle  
attentions but her brother's as well.  
  
"Hiei," Yukina said a little more forcibly to  
get her twin's attention, "Where was she hurt?"  
  
"Kurama's brother said she broke her left arm  
and leg, and Yuusuke hit her in her abdomen."  
  
Yukina nodded her understanding and started  
to work. She placed her hands on Kitsuryuu's left  
leg and waited for the collar to react. When she  
felt nothing happen, Yukina slowly started to  
implement her powers. At the first level she  
could feel the young girl's knife edged pain  
cutting across the mid point of her thigh and  
repositioned her hands directly over the site.   
When Yukina went to the next level, however, she  
didn't find what she had expected.  
  
As far as Yukina could tell there was nothing  
wrong with Kitsuryuu's leg. Puzzled she tried  
harder to find a brake or even a healed fracture  
but could find nothing. Saying nothing to the  
group of concerned on lookers she moved on the  
girl's arm and found the same thing, great pain  
but no brake. Yukina knew that nobody could  
possibly heal so completely that no sign appeared  
even under the surface.  
  
Yukina continued on to Kitsuryuu's stomach  
and once again found the same thing. Her  
curiosity peaked and her puzzlement growing,  
Yukina continued on to where she *knew* Kitsuryuu  
was injured. As close and as carefully as she  
could Yukina placed her finger tips on the girl's  
throat next to the collar. This time she found  
what she expected.  
  
The skin around the collar was badly bruised  
and burned. Yukina gently used her powers at  
first to see if the collar would react, but  
apparently Hiei was keeping it well occupied.   
Increasing her effort Yukina quickly healed the  
damaged area. Not knowing what else she could do  
for the girl, Yukina decided to check out the  
badly cropped youko ears she had noticed earlier.  
  
The scaring on the edges of the ears was very  
old and thick, not allowing even the coarsest of  
hairs to grow. If the damage had of been new she  
might have had a chance of coaxing them to  
regenerate, but as it was they were beyond her  
abilities.   
  
Yukina increased her powers a step farther  
and looked deep into the actual functioning part  
of Kitsuryuu's ears. She remembered that the  
children had said Kitsuryuu was deaf and she  
wanted to see if she could help since she seemed  
unable to do anything else. She found the same  
disheartening news.  
  
Kitsuryuu's ears had been damage far too long  
ago and too severely for Yukina to help the young  
girl now. Some kind of nearly fatal infection had  
scared and destroyed the functioning portions of  
Kitsuryuu's ears, making it impossible for her to  
hear. A feeling of regret and sympathy flowed  
through her for the youko in front of her. How  
could someone heal so completely from the kinds of  
injuries Hiei had described, but not be able to  
fight off a simple infection? Maybe it was the  
difference in her age from then to now, but  
somehow Yukina didn't think so. There was  
something else going on.  
  
From the opened window to Yukina's left she  
heard Mechiko yell 'There here!' moments before  
the back door slammed open and shut. That was  
quickly followed by another series of slams and  
Yuusuke's very loud and very irritated voice.   
  
"Maryoku! Get your ass back here now!"  
  
Yukina turned to find Yuusuke's son pushing  
himself past Kiseki, refusing the younger boy's  
offer of help. He quickly scanned the room and  
then locked eyes with Hiei. Yukina was surprised  
by the way the two of them seem to communicate  
without speaking. Maryoku gave Hiei a questioning  
look and received a slight negative shake of the  
head in silent response.   
  
"Isn't there anything that you can do for her  
Aunt Yukina?" Maryoku pleaded with a barely  
audible whisper.  
  
Yukina could hear the fear and tears in young  
man's voice. She was the only one that saw the  
single tear fell from behind the short feathery  
bangs of Maryoku's mussed up hair. It landed on  
one of the blood soaked bandages clumsily wrapped  
around his palms, soaking in quickly. Kiseki  
knelt in front of his friend and gently took  
Maryoku's hands into his own and began to heal  
them.  
  
"There isn't much I can do. I can't find  
anything physically wrong with her other than  
exhaustion. Her only problem is the collar. With  
it constantly draining her there's no way she can  
recover her strength," Yukina told him.  
  
"Then we'll just have to take it off," Hiei  
stated bluntly as he curled his fingertips under  
the collar.  
  
"NO!" Kurama, Kiseki and Maryoku yelled  
before he had a chance to grip it firmly.  
  
"If you take the collar off there will be a  
backlash of power," Kiseki told Hiei and his uncle  
relaxed his fingers.  
  
"Hiei, the collar was designed so that  
another youkai can't take it off. If you try and  
remove it the collar will use your own powers to  
kill her," Kurama informed them.  
  
"When we took the other wards off it nearly  
killed both us and Kitsuryuu. The only one of us  
that wasn't hurt was Arashi," Kiseki told his  
other uncle.  
  
"That was because he's human."  
  
"So is there no other way to get the collar  
off of her? The longer it drains her powers the  
worse she will get," Yukina said.  
  
"There is a way!" Maryoku said excitedly as  
he grabbed Kiseki's shoulders, "All we have to do  
is make her change forms."  
  
"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that!" Kiseki  
said, sharing Maryoku's excitement.  
  
"What are the two of you talking about?"  
Yukina asked.  
  
"Kiseki can *make* Kitsuryuu change forms,  
and that way her collar won't hurt her. He's done  
it before."  
  
"So do it," Hiei demanded.  
  
Kiseki gave his mother a nervous glance that  
she returned with a reassuring smile. The young  
boy took a deep breath and knelt next to  
Kitsuryuu. He quickly placed his hand on her arm  
and Kitsuryuu's body shimmered and then changed  
shape.   
  
Silver-blue hair changed to dirty, blood  
encrusted red-black tresses. Kitsuryuu's cropped  
ears formed into the delicate shells of two  
perfect humanoid ears. The girl's body shrank in  
size and all the injuries that Hiei had described  
earlier appeared. Yukina couldn't help and cringe  
at the obvious severity of Kitsuryuu's wounds.   
Her brother pulled slowly away with blank shock  
clearly on his face. Shiori gave a gasp of  
surprise and quickly excused herself from the  
room.  
  
Kitsuryuu looked horrible. Her long  
red-black hair was matted with dried blood and  
dirt. The pale flawless skin that Yukina  
remembered form the photo album was covered in hot  
pink, half healed scars over blue-black bruised  
skin. All the clothing on the left side of her  
body was ripped or cut and drenched in blood. The  
exposed areas of Kitsuryuu's left leg and arm had  
the same grotesque bruises and the right side of  
her stomach was an open sore.  
  
Yukina quickly got over her own shock and  
started working on the girl. Her first priority  
was healing the still bleeding wound. She placed  
her hands on either side of the opening and  
stopped the bleeding first , then assessed the  
situation. The damage to Kitsuryuu's stomach was  
worse than Yukina had first thought. The young  
girl's kidney, intestines and part of one lung  
were crushed and non-functioning, but besides that  
there were other internal injuries that Yuusuke's  
blast should have never caused.  
  
It seemed to Yukina that every part of  
Kitsuryuu's body had been beaten from what felt  
like the inside. She began to worry that her  
powers would be insufficient to help the youkai.   
There was so much that needed healing.   
Kitsuryuu's broken arm had healed on its own  
without any trouble, but her leg had fused  
slightly crooked. Yukina could feel bruising  
around Kitsuryuu's once broken ribs making it  
painful for the girl to breath.  
  
"Kiseki, I'm going to need your help. Kurama  
go get Fuyu quickly."  
  
Yukina could see panic fill Kurama as he ran  
from the room. Hiei just sat in stony silence at  
Kitsuryuu's head, not moving. Yuusuke tried to  
gently move his son out of the way to give the  
healers more room. At first Maryoku didn't  
respond, then the young man awoke from his shock  
and he jerked himself from his father's grasp. He  
willingly retreated to a corner of the room, but  
refused to leave.  
  
"Where do you what me to start mother?"  
Kiseki asked worriedly.  
  
"Just start healing her. She has too many  
small injuries to focus on any one thing. I will  
start with her stomach."  
  
Kiseki did as he was told and Yukina was  
relieved to see that he was more than able to  
tackle the task she had set before him. She  
placed her own hands over Kitsuryuu's stomach and  
concentrated her powers. She was vaguely aware  
that Fuyu had joined them when she heard her  
daughter gasp, but right now all of Yukina's  
attention was focused on the girl in front of her.  
  
Slowly, minute by minute, Kitsuryuu began to  
heal. For the next few hours the three of them  
worked to bring Kitsuryuu back to her previous  
health. Exhausted, the children had to stop  
before Yukina but they had ready done a phenomenal  
job. Kitsuryuu was past the critical stage and  
with a lot of rest she would recover fully on her  
own.  
  
Yukina gave a tired sigh and slumped next to  
Kitsuryuu. The young girl was sleeping deeply,  
almost to the point of being comatose. Yukina  
stretched out her hand and laid it over  
Kitsuryuu's leg and shook her head sadly.   
  
"What's wrong Yukina?"   
  
Kurama's gentle question startled her.   
Yukina snapped her head up to find that she had a  
much bigger audience than when she had first  
started. Shiori was still out of the room but  
everyone else was here. Mechiko, Arashi and Koori  
were in the window watching, Yuusuke and Kazuma  
stood at the door trying to stay out of the way  
and Maryoku, Fuyu, Kurama, Hiei and herself were  
huddled around Kitsuryuu in a semi circle.   
  
"I have healed what I can, but she is still  
in bad shape. She needs time to rest, but that  
isn't my only concern. Her leg was badly broken  
and it has healed crooked, if it is not straitened  
then she will always limp."  
  
"How can we fix it?" Maryoku asked as he  
pulled a cover over Kitsuryuu's sleeping form.  
  
"We brake it again," Hiei stated bluntly,  
drawing a gasp from Fuyu who sat beside him.  
  
"That *is* the only way, but not now. She is  
too weak and the added shock to her system would  
only make her worse," Yukina said quickly.  
  
"Please, everyone, just leave her to rest for  
now. We can discuss how to fix Kitsuryuu's leg  
later when she is more fully recovered."  
  
Slowly one by one everybody left. Kurama,  
Hiei and Maryoku were the last to leave. Kurama  
escorted the upset young man from the room with  
his arm around his shoulders, reassuring Maryoku  
that Kitsuryuu was going to be fine. Yukina  
turned back to her patient just in time to see  
Hiei place his hand lightly on the top of the  
sleeping girl's head and then quickly withdraw it.  
  
"She's your daughter, isn't she. Yours and  
Kurama's that is," Yukina stated.  
  
Hiei would not meet her eyes and turned away  
from the bed. He left the room without answering.   
Yukina didn't need her brother to confirm what she  
already knew to be true. She didn't know how Hiei  
could have possible done it on his own but he had  
a Koorimei daughter.  
  
There were many questions that Yukina had no  
answers for. Like how injuries to one of  
Kitsuryuu's forms did not carry over to the  
others. All youkai that she had ever heard of  
that had multiple shapes, including youkos, had  
only one physical body that changed in shape. It  
would appear that Kitsuryuu had different bodies  
to go along with each form, but only one  
consciousness. Kitsuryuu truly was an outstanding  
young lady, with more questions than answers.   
  
Yukina made sure that her 'new' niece was as  
comfortable as she could make her and then quietly  
left the room. Hopefully by the time the girl  
awakened most of her unanswered questions would be  
satisfied.  
  
==========  
end chapter 19 


	21. twentyA

The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 20  
Written by Kat Mayes  
  
  
One of Kitsuryuu's clear, wine red eyes slide  
open when a warm, gentle hand touched her  
forehead. She tried to turn her face into the  
inviting touch, but she was just too drained to  
move. Kitsuryuu fought unsuccessfully to focus  
her blurred vision and make out the figure  
back-lighted in bright morning light. For some  
reason she thought she knew him... from a dream  
she used to have when she was little.   
  
Kitsuryuu felt a curtain of fresh smelling,  
silky hair slide against her cheek as the unknown  
person kissed the top of her head. His hair  
smelled of roses and sweet fire, a strange  
combination but comforting all the same.   
Kitsuryuu could feel the vibrations of his voice  
as he spoke softly to her within moments she was  
lulled asleep.  
  
The room was dark the next time Kitsuryuu  
awaken, and the only light was from the high full  
moon. She tried stretching her limps and found  
that she was in her fire form and very  
uncomfortable. Unaccustomed to sleeping in this  
fashion had caused a painful cramp to start biting  
into her lower back and neck. Wanting to ease her  
discomfort Kitsuryuu changed to her more  
comfortable fox body. Once she was in her more  
common choice of sleeping bodies, Kitsuryuu so  
exhausted that she almost didn't feel the presence  
of someone else in the room as she started to  
drift back into her dreams.  
  
Panicking for a moment, Kitsuryuu tried to  
rise, but with her system drain from her earlier  
transformation all she could do was left her head.   
Her heart started to pound painfully in her chest  
with fright knowing that she was helpless to  
defend herself. Kitsuryuu caught a movement in  
the moonlight of the window and her fear began to  
literally choke her. When she saw the figure  
fully in the light, her fear turned to joy.  
  
The 'fire friend' that she had meet in her  
cave walked in hesitant half steps over to her  
like he didn't know if he wanted to run or stay.   
Kitsuryuu summoned just enough energy to thump her  
tail twice on the bedding. She was hoping that  
her friend would understand her invitation. He  
finally made it to the bed and awkwardly sat down  
next to her. He didn't look at her or speak, just  
sat there with his hands in his lap as if he was  
afraid of touching her.   
  
Kitsuryuu could feel the tension in the man  
next to her like an over-tightened spring. With  
an ungraceful flop she tossed her head into her  
friend's lap. Fuyu had always told her that  
petting an animal's fur calmed people and  
Kitsuryuu hoped it would do the same for her  
friend. She could feel the muscles in his thighs  
jerk as if he was going to jump to his feet and  
Kitsuryuu wondered if she had over stepped her  
bounds.   
  
He hesitantly started to stoke her fur and  
she assisted him by turning her head slightly so  
that he petted her in just the right spot.   
Kitsuryuu could feel herself purring loudly, and  
had it of been anyone else she would have been  
embarrassed at her lack of control. She was  
lulled into a deep, healing sleep by the gentle  
scratching behind her ears and the peace her  
friend's quiet presence gave her.  
  
Late afternoon of the fourth day Kitsuryuu  
awakened fully, feeling just as tired as she had  
the other times. Kitsuryuu knew that she should  
get up and move around a bit, but she was too  
content to lay on the soft bedding in the warm  
sunlight that cascaded in through the window. The  
covers that smelled faintly of Maryoku were all  
bunched up into a messy pile that made an ideal  
nest. Kitsuryuu buried her head farther into the  
covers so that she could escape the beam of  
sunlight that had awakened her.  
  
Kitsuryuu felt a movement on her belly and  
had to squint into the light to see that Koori had  
made herself at home as she always did. The two  
of them had their limbs twisted around each other,  
resembling a furry, silver-blue pretzel. Knowing  
that the young child was taking her customary  
daily nap, Kitsuryuu let her sleep until she  
herself became restless.  
  
Kitsuryuu started to wake Koori in her usual  
fashion by licking the child's face and tugging on  
her clothes with her teeth. When the little girl  
finally did awaken, rubbing her big red eyes with  
her balled up fist as she sat up, she gave  
Kitsuryuu probably the biggest smile ever. The  
little girl then proceeded to choke the life out  
of her with a hug and toppled both of them to the  
bed. Koori started signing furiously, something  
about 'finally awake' and 'being scared' but  
before Kitsuryuu had a chance to understand what  
the child was trying to say, Koori rushed out the  
door leaving her abandoned on the bed.  
  
Kitsuryuu rubbed her own eyes with the wrist  
of her paw and then treated herself to a full body  
stretch that made the fur on her back and tail  
fluff out with pleasure. A deep aching throb in  
Kitsuryuu's back left leg keep her from moving too  
quickly, but she managed to stretch out fully.   
She realized that her fur was a total wreak and  
began to lick it into a semblance of order. Once  
satisfied that her friends would not laugh at her  
spiky fur Kitsuryuu took stock of her surroundings  
and realized that she defiantly was not in the  
forest.   
  
She looked around the huge box-like room with  
unease. The room was almost empty except for the  
nest she laid in and three large wooden boxes with  
handles along their front. Kitsuryuu never liked  
to be in enclosed areas, it reminded her too much  
of the time she was with the humans. She only  
slept in caves out of necessity and tried to spend  
as little time in them as possible. The only  
thing that kept her from fully panicking in the  
small room was the window.  
  
Kitsuryuu knew that the window led to the  
outside, but she also knew that the glass could  
seriously wound her if she broke it getting out.   
Right now she was too weak and didn't know what  
was wrong with her leg so trying to leave the room  
in that manner was not her first choose.   
Kitsuryuu was also painfully aware of the open  
door Koori had left from. It was a way out of the  
room, but she didn't know where it led.  
  
Trying out all her options, Kitsuryuu slowly  
trotted her way to the doorway, favoring her left  
hind leg, and poked her nose out. Dozens of  
familiar and unfamiliar smells assaulted her at  
once. Some were faint, like the roses she could  
barely detect, but some were very strong. The  
aroma of burning meat wafting down the hall almost  
over powered the scent of humans in the house.   
Not knowing whether to go back or proceed,  
Kitsuryuu waited nervously in the hall. Before  
too long she saw Koori come running around the  
corner towards her with a tall human following her  
closely.  
  
Reacting by instinct, Kitsuryuu ignored the  
pain in her leg and ran down the hall past the  
young girl and lunged herself at the orange haired  
man, teeth bared. The human male held her  
snarling and snapping teeth from his face and  
throat by holding on firmly to the loose scuff of  
her neck. As she stood on the curly haired  
human's chest trying to be as threatening as she  
could (even though she felt like a rabbit could  
knock her over) she noticed the resemblance he had  
with Arashi.  
  
Her panic inched up a notch when she realized  
that she almost ripped the throat out of one of  
Koori's parents. Even though all of her friends  
had warned her not to have any contact with their  
parents it was obvious that they loved them very  
much, painfully obvious. Despite the knowledge  
that this was Koori's father and the little girl  
trusted him unconditionally Kitsuryuu was still  
frighten of him because he was human.   
  
Kitsuryuu suddenly felt another presence in  
the room and realized too late her mistake. She  
had focused all her attention on the human under  
her and had not seen the human woman standing a  
little ways away until she was too close.   
Kitsuryuu did not want to divide her attention  
between the two humans, that was how she got  
captured when she was little. Right now, all she  
wanted to do was to get out of here with Koori,  
then she realized that the woman had her fire  
friend's baby. Kitsuryuu didn't know what was  
going on, all she knew was that she was not in  
control and that was dangerous. She had to come  
up with a different strategy.  
  
Kitsuryuu suddenly started to struggle in the  
human male's tight grasp hoping the drastic change  
in movement would make him let her go. She needed  
distance to try and force an advantage, but the  
man had too good of a hold on her fur and skin.   
Kitsuryuu increased her vocalizations hoping that  
she could intimidate the human into letting her  
go.  
  
Kitsuryuu knew that she was getting no where,  
the human was just too strong for her in her  
weakened condition. She started to panic and  
began to thrash so wildly that Kitsuryuu thought  
she would either get loose or brake her neck. She  
could tell that the human male was trying to hold  
on to her with out hurting her, but she had to get  
away. Kitsuryuu saw the human woman out of the  
corner of her eye kneel on the floor and placed  
the infant kit on its furless, round belly. The  
woman backed away slowly and by the movement of  
her lips Kitsuryuu saw her give the male a command  
to let her go.  
  
The orange haired man gave her a slight shove  
back when he released her and quickly scrambled to  
his feet. Kitsuryuu made the long hairs on the  
back of her neck stand on end attempting to make  
herself appear bigger. Sweet earth, she was tired  
but she couldn't drop her guard. She didn't trust  
the humans to keep their distance so keeping Koori  
to her back, and the humans in front, Kitsuryuu  
circled the room wary of any movement.   
  
She slowly made her way to the kit as it  
nosed around looking for a warm body. Using an  
unknown instinct Kitsuryuu picked the baby up in  
her razor sharp teeth and began to back away from  
the humans. She continued backwards down the  
hall, shepherding Koori into the room she had come  
from.  
  
The humans did not follow, but the large male  
seemed to want to. Kitsuryuu did not take her  
eyes off the them until she had to turn the corner  
to enter the room. Once inside she kicked the  
door closed with her front paw.   
  
Koori was signing at a mile a minute, but  
Kitsuryuu was too distracted and tired to  
understand her. Not stopping to decipher her  
young friend's words, Kitsuryuu pushed Koori onto  
the bed with her head. When the girl finally sat  
down, Kitsuryuu placed the youko kit into Koori's  
lap. Now that both of her wards were reasonably  
safe, Kitsuryuu turned her attention to the door.  
  
For what felt like and agonizingly long time  
Kitsuryuu watched the door. Koori had attempted  
to communicate with her many times but Kitsuryuu  
ignored the young girl. She didn't want to be  
taken off guard again. After a while Koori  
stopped trying to get her attention and laid down  
for another nap.   
  
Kitsuryuu felt Koori snuggle close to her  
side, but she didn't move or take her eyes from  
the door. It wasn't until she noticed a movement  
to her left that Kitsuryuu looked away from wooden  
surface. The youko kit was dragging his way over  
to her but making almost no progress. Kitsuryuu  
once again grasped the infant gently in her teeth  
and placed him between her front legs close to her  
chest. When the little pup didn't settle down  
right away, Kitsuryuu gave him two long, quick  
licks down his tiny back and he stopped squirming.  
  
Kitsuryuu tried to keep herself from falling  
asleep, but with Koori's gentle breathing rhythm  
at her side and the kit's tiny purr at her chest  
it was hard. She didn't know what she was going  
to do. Kitsuryuu felt trapped. There was only  
one way out, through the window, but she wasn't  
even sure that she could make it out safely  
herself let alone make it with two little ones in  
tow. Suddenly the door started to move and  
Kitsuryuu came to her feet, making both the baby  
and Koori tumble.  
  
Before the intruder had a chance to get the  
door fully open Kitsuryuu lunged. Mechiko caught  
her in mid flight and wrestled her to the ground.   
Kitsuryuu was so relieved to see her friend that  
she collapsed on top of Mechiko and started  
licking the stunned girl's face while her tail  
wagged with gale force behind her.  
  
Mechiko was soon followed by Maryoku, the  
twins and Kiseki. Kitsuryuu watched them come in  
one by one, but when the orange haired human tried  
to follow them she became defensive again.   
Mechiko kept a lock on Kitsuryuu's body by  
practically sitting on top of her and wrapped her  
arms around the fox's neck. Kitsuryuu snapped and  
snarled and tried desperately to look deadly.  
  
The human stopped in the doorway and  
continued no farther. Other people began to crowd  
at the door around the male human, but her friends  
would not allow them to enter. Kitsuryuu started  
to pull against Mechiko's hold feeling very  
nervous with so many people around. She didn't  
know if she wanted to run or stay, but she knew  
that she didn't want them here.  
  
Kitsuryuu watched as the only person that  
made it pass the large human was the man that  
looked like Maryoku. The two of them talked to  
each other, but Kitsuryuu could not see their  
words. The orange haired human must have won the  
argument because Mechiko's father didn't look  
pleased as one of his eyes started twitching. The  
human gave a funny looking smile that only made  
the other man madder and pulled Mechiko's father  
from the room.   
  
As soon as the door was closed all of  
Kitsuryuu's friends started to pass her around,  
giving her strong hugs and scratched behind her  
ears. Except for Arashi of course, who whacked  
the back of her head when she wasn't looking at  
him. Kitsuryuu soon became dizzy being tossed  
around and having her attention pulled in so many  
directions at once. Thankfully Maryoku stopped  
them before she got sick.  
  
/Stop dragging Kitsuryuu around like that!   
She's been in a coma for four days!/ he angrily  
signed, shaming the group.  
  
Kitsuryuu wondered what a 'coma' was as  
Maryoku knelt down in front of her and took her  
head in his hands. He looked into each of her  
eyes individually and then started poking at the  
rest of her. Before long Kitsuryuu got tried of  
being poked at and when Maryoku started to mess  
with her hurt leg she knock him to the ground.  
  
/Kitsuryuu! I need to see how much you've  
recovered./  
  
Kitsuryuu rolled her eyes and turned her back  
to him as an answer. She saw the others try and  
keep from laughing . Kitsuryuu knew from  
experience that Maryoku was mad because she turned  
away from him and his face was probably dark red  
with anger.  
  
/He is right Kitsuryuu. We have to see if  
you're still hurt,/ Kiseki said when he gained her  
attention.  
  
Kitsuryuu looked from face to face looking  
for an ally but it seemed that they were all  
against her. Recognizing defeat, Kitsuryuu hung  
her head in silent compliance. When no one came  
forward to poke at her, Kitsuryuu lifted her head  
to see what was holding them up.  
  
Kiseki and Maryoku were talking with each  
other and Kitsuryuu was unable to see what they  
were saying. After they were done they both  
looked at Mechiko. The girl's eyes grew wide  
suddenly and she started to shake her head,  
repeating the words 'Not me'. Then both Maryoku  
and Kiseki grabbed a shoulder and pushed Mechiko  
towards Kitsuryuu saying 'Yes, you'.  
  
Kitsuryuu knew right away by the silly grin  
and the way Mechiko shifted her feet nervously  
that what ever the girl was going to say to her  
she wouldn't like.  
  
/Kitsuryuu, they,/ Mechiko signed and then  
pointed accusingly to the two boys, /want Kiseki's  
mother to look at you./  
  
Kitsuryuu *defiantly* didn't like that idea!   
She had always been told that she could never have  
contact with the children's parents because it was  
dangerous. Kitsuryuu shook her head furiously and  
closed her eyes so that she couldn't see any  
protests from her friends. Two tiny arms slipped  
around Kitsuryuu's neck and the kitsune knew  
exactly who it was. Kitsuryuu cracked an eye open  
and saw Koori's eyes brimming with cold tears.  
  
/Please let momma look at you Kitsuryuu. I'm  
scared that you might go to sleep and not wake up  
again,/ the little girl pleaded.  
  
Kitsuryuu gave a sigh and then pushed her  
nose against Koori's. With a barely discernible  
nod Kitsuryuu agreed. Koori's eyes were instantly  
clear of any tears and a big smile formed on her  
face. The little girl gave Kitsuryuu a big hug  
and kiss, then raced to the door.  
  
Kitsuryuu sat in her place stunned. She had  
been tricked! Her little girl had played her for  
a fool. Kitsuryuu saw her friends laughing at her  
and she gave them her best glare. Unfortunately  
it only made them laugh harder.   
  
Soon the laughing stopped and Kitsuryuu  
became aware that Koori's mother had entered the  
room. The pretty woman stood at the door with  
Koori standing in front of her. When Koori tried  
to pull her mother closer she refused. Kitsuryuu  
saw the woman tell Koori that Kitsuryuu would come  
to her when she was ready.  
  
==========  
end part a 


	22. twentyB

Part b  
  
Seeing the genuine sincerity in her words,  
Kitsuryuu crept forward keeping an eye on the  
woman the whole time. When she got closer Koori's  
mother knelt on the floor and stretched out her  
hand. She sat perfectly still as Kitsuryuu inched  
forward. First Kitsuryuu sniffed at her palm and  
then her clothes and when nothing bad happened she  
sat down in front of the woman within arm's reach.  
  
/Kitsuryuu, this is my mother, Yukina. Momma  
this is Kitsuryuu,/ Koori said and signed at the  
same time.  
  
Remembering what Koori had told her about  
being polite, Kitsuryuu extended her paw and  
placed it in the woman's outstretched hand.   
Yukina smiled and gently shook the offered paw.   
After the niceties were over Koori's mother  
reached out her hands and tried to place them on  
either side of Kitsuryuu's head. Before she could  
Kitsuryuu noticed a faint blue light emanating  
from her hands and Kitsuryuu jerked away.  
  
/It's OK Kitsuryuu. Momma just wants to look  
inside to see if your hurt, you know, like Kiseki  
does,/ Koori explained quickly.  
  
Kitsuryuu nodded her head in acceptance, but  
kept her eyes locked with Yukina's. She wanted  
the other woman to know that she was watching her  
closely, but as soon as Yukina's hands touched  
her, Kitsuryuu knew she had nothing to fear.  
  
As Yukina's hands traveled over her body,  
Kitsuryuu couldn't help but purr slightly. The  
woman's touch was so light and warm it was like  
sleeping in the sunshine. All of Kitsuryuu's  
nerve ends sang with contentment. Before she  
realized what she was doing, Kitsuryuu laid her  
head in Yukina's lap, closed her eyes and flatten  
her ears to show her pleasure. It was rudely  
interrupted, however, by a gentle shove at her  
shoulder.  
  
/Momma wants to know if this hurts,/ Koori  
explained when Kitsuryuu opened her eyes.  
  
Kitsuryuu looked down her body and saw that  
Koori's mother was rotating her injured leg in  
every conceivable direction. She was truly  
surprised that this manipulation of her limp was  
not sending her into muscle cramping pain. The  
only thing she did feel was the constant ache she  
had felt since she woke up. Kitsuryuu shook her  
head to answer the young girl's question.  
  
/Momma wants you to change to your other  
form, Kitsuryuu. Can you?/   
  
Kitsuryuu thought for a moment, she was a bit  
weak but she should be able to change without too  
much trouble. She pulled herself from Yukina's  
lap knowing that while laying in the woman's lap  
as a fox was all right, laying there as a person  
was a breach of manners.   
  
Slowly, much more slowly than she ever had  
before, Kitsuryuu changed. The pain she had felt  
in her leg before turn ugly and she had to grit  
her teeth to keep from crying out. The crouch  
that Kitsuryuu was in was far too painful for her  
to maintain so she quickly laid on her side, bad  
leg on top. Koori's mother placed her hands right  
over the site that gave Kitsuryuu the most pain.   
By inches, Yukina chased the pain away, and left  
an ache in its place.  
  
/What is wrong with my leg?/ Kitsuryuu asked  
the women, knowing that Koori would translate for  
her.  
  
/Momma says that you leg is broken and healed  
wrong./  
  
Her leg was broken? How could that have  
happened? Kitsuryuu couldn't remember doing  
anything that could have done that kind of damage.   
When she really thought about it, the last thing  
Kitsuryuu remembered before waking up here was  
running in the woods away from this place. At the  
moment Kitsuryuu didn't care how she had done it,  
all she knew was that animals with broken legs  
died.  
  
/Fix it,/ Kitsuryuu told Yukina, hoping that  
Koori's mother had that ability.  
  
/Momma says that you have to brake your leg  
again to fix it right. She says.../  
  
Koori didn't get to finish her mother's  
explanation before Kitsuryuu brought down the heel  
of her own hand down on her leg. Kitsuryuu felt  
her bone snap under her palm and grind halfway  
into place. She had expected pain but she hadn't  
realized how much. Without meaning to Kitsuryuu  
let out a scream that even vibrated in her own  
head.  
  
Kitsuryuu tried to grab her leg, but it hurt  
too much to touch. She wanted to bite  
something... hit something... anything to ease the  
pain. Kitsuryuu bit her own lip and the pain that  
it caused didn't help the agony below. She felt  
tears start to burn her eyes when she notice her  
fire friend kneeling on the floor next to her.  
  
He had both of his hands out in front of him  
just like Mechiko did when they trained in  
punches. Knowing what he was offering, Kitsuryuu  
used her left arm to support herself and swung her  
right arm back for a punch. She hit her friend's  
hands several time, but to her annoyance he didn't  
even move a fraction. Even as weak as she was,  
Kitsuryuu knew that Mechiko would have at least  
flinched a little.  
  
As Kitsuryuu pulled back for another punch, a  
pair of strong hands grabbed her leg, just above  
the knee, and pulled, making the two ends of the  
bone fit together correctly. A wave of nauseating  
agony hit her gut, and she let loose her fist.   
Though pain blurred eyes Kitsuryuu was pleased to  
note that her fire friend had slid backward an  
inch with her last strike.  
  
Kitsuryuu became dizzy and let herself fall  
to the ground from her propped up position. She  
could feel someone wrapping her leg tightly, but  
she was too tired and pain-sick to care. The  
events of the afternoon were wareing on her and  
before she had a chance to thank Yukina, Kitsuryuu  
slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
The next day Kitsuryuu awaken to find Maryoku  
reading quietly by her side. She tried shifting  
her position and found that between her shoulder  
blades and her neck ached terribly, and her butt  
was asleep. The sharp pins-and-needles feeling in  
her posterior made her whence, but it was the ache  
in her neck she couldn't stand. Kitsuryuu hated  
sleeping in her fire form.  
  
She tried to sit up on her own her but her  
broken left leg was perfectly straight and stiff.   
Her injured leg was wrapped in many layers of  
white material making it impossible to bend it in  
any way. Kitsuryuu noticed that her usual jeans  
had been replaced with loose shorts and her over  
sized T-shirt was now a white button up dress  
shirt.   
  
Kitsuryuu tried again to sit up, hoping that  
if she threw more of her weight into it she could  
force her body upright. She didn't even get half  
way when she found out that her midriff was  
bandaged also. Kitsuryuu laid back down stunned.   
For the life of her she couldn't remember what she  
had done to cause this much injury.  
  
Maryoku saw her trying to move and carefully  
marked his place in the book before he placed it  
on the floor. Without a word he helped Kitsuryuu  
to her feet and wrapped her arm around his  
shoulders for support. For the next few minutes  
the two of them just limped around the room and  
soon Kitsuryuu found that the ache in her neck and  
the pain in her posterior was gone.  
  
As Maryoku helped her around the room,  
Kitsuryuu noticed a strange tension in him.   
Somehow she knew that he was troubled by something  
and he didn't want her to know about it. When he  
tried to lead her out the door, Kitsuryuu grabbed  
the doorjamb and refused to go farther.  
  
/Where are we going?/ she asked him  
worriedly.  
  
/In to the other room where there's more  
space to talk./  
  
Kitsuryuu liked the 'more space' idea, but  
she wasn't too crazy about the 'other room' part.   
Trusting Maryoku to not but her into a situation  
that could not be handled, Kitsuryuu allowed him  
to lead her. They entered the room where she and  
Koori's father had run into each other the  
previous day and Kitsuryuu found that all her  
friends were there.   
  
All of them were huddled together talking  
with happy-sad faces. Kitsuryuu had realized long  
ago that her friends' emotions tended to be  
confusing at best. Most of the time they were  
happy, or content but sometimes they had so many  
emotions inside them that they didn't know which  
one to feel. Kitsuryuu could never understand why  
they never could make up their minds on how to  
feel, either your happy or your sad. Right now  
Kitsuryuu could clearly see the happy-sad faces  
her friends usually wore when they went on  
'vacation'. Maybe they were going to visit their  
grandparents or aunts' again.  
  
As she shuffled into the room, the others saw  
her and immediately stop their conversation.   
Koori came immediately to Kitsuryuu's side and  
started to tug on her hand with excited and  
cheerful exuberance. Maryoku lead her to one of  
the chairs and tried to make her sit but with  
Kitsuryuu's track record in this room she would  
rather face what ever was going to happen standing  
up.  
  
Maryoku gave up trying to get her to sit down  
and left her to stand shakily on her own with  
Koori pulling at her unmercifully. She watched  
him walk away from her to the window across the  
room, but once he was there he didn't turn around.   
He just stood there with his hands in his pockets  
staring out at the dark, rain heavy clouds.   
Kitsuryuu felt her heart grow heavy for Maryoku.   
He was obviously very upset and when he got this  
upset he usually refused everyone's attention.   
Maryoku was the only friend that Kitsuryuu felt  
like she could understand, but right now she  
didn't know what was wrong with him.  
  
Koori yanked at Kitsuryuu's hand almost  
making the injured girl lose her balance.   
Kitsuryuu finally tore her eyes away from  
Maryoku's tight shoulders and looked down at the  
little girl.  
  
/We have great news, Kitsuryuu! You stay  
right here and I'll bring him to you!/ Koori  
beamed with delight before she rushed into the  
joining room.  
  
Kitsuryuu looked at her friends across the  
room and took comfort that they didn't seem  
frightened. Fuyu smiled brightly at her and one  
shining tear glistened on her cheek. The teenage  
ice maiden caught the tear before it had a chance  
to fall to the floor, but the smile never left her  
face. Mechiko had the same type of smile on her  
face, but it was tempered by her gruff nature.   
Kitsuryuu closest friend gave her a 'thumps-up'  
sign, a wink and then pointed to the door.  
  
Kitsuryuu followed Mechiko's direction and  
saw Koori emerge from the darken doorway, pouncing  
as she always did. Behind her a shadow formed and  
then showed itself to be the red haired human  
Kitsuryuu had seen the day she had tried to run  
away.  
  
/Kitsuryuu, this is your new Father!/ Koori  
proclaimed proudly as she pointed towards the  
door.  
  
Cautiously, Kitsuryuu looked into the human's  
deep green eyes and realized that they were  
identical to her fire friend's baby. She  
remembered the way her friend seemed to trust this  
one human above the others and came to the simple  
conclusion that this strange human was her  
friend's mate. That confused Kitsuryuu greatly,  
two males were not the usual mating pair, at least  
in her limited knowledge of the forest. Maybe  
that was the way humans mate.   
  
The human shifted nervously in his place  
before stepping to the side, away from the  
doorway. For some reason Kitsuryuu could not tare  
her red eyes from his emerald green ones. She had  
not met this man formally, but somehow she knew  
him... remembered him... from a dream. Kitsuryuu  
oftened dreamed the things she painted or drew. A  
thousand new ideas blossomed with the inspiration  
this handsome human gave her.   
  
Kitsuryuu realized that her mind was  
wandering and forced herself to focus on the  
situation at hand. Koori had said something about  
her 'Father'. Kitsuryuu could only remember her  
fox mother that had raised her. She knew now that  
the fox that took care of her was not her real  
mother, but Kitsuryuu also knew that she had to  
come from somewhere. She had to have parents of  
her own, but was it possible that this *human* was  
her father?!   
  
Kitsuryuu looked into the human male's eyes  
and began to bring her hands up to ask who he was  
when a second shadow emerged from the doorway.   
The man that entered was taller than the red head  
and defiantly *not* human. His short, light brown  
hair was just long enough to fall into his  
slanted, gold eyes. He seemed rather young,  
almost her own age, but an instinct told Kitsuryuu  
that he was far older than anyone in this room. A  
furious tugging on her shirt caused Kitsuryuu to  
look down at her young friend.  
  
/This is your Father, Koenma,/ Koori stated  
cheerfully and with grand flare.  
  
Kitsuryuu looked back at the man called  
Koenma and was intrigued by the blush that stained  
his cheeks. He seemed nervous and he cut his eyes  
to the side to look at the red haired human. If  
Kitsuryuu was understanding the look Koenma was  
giving the human correctly the taller man was  
asking permission. To do what, Kitsuryuu had no  
clue.  
  
The human gave no visible answer that  
Kitsuryuu could see. He just turned his back to  
everyone in the room and looked out one of the  
windows. Kitsuryuu looked around the room in  
confusion. Something was going on that was just  
beyond her understanding, and from the faces  
around her, Kitsuryuu knew that none of them were  
going to tell her or couldn't tell her.  
  
Mechiko broke the still by leaving her place  
against the wall to come to Koenma's side. The  
young lady gave the man a small push and Koenma  
came slowly towards Kitsuryuu. Not knowing how to  
react, Kitsuryuu looked towards the red haired  
human for help. It made no sense to her why she  
wanted the human to guide her, but she did.  
  
The human didn't turn around. He continued  
to look out the window into the quietly falling  
rain. Outside, where the forest met the grass,  
sat her fire friend. He sat with his arms crossed  
over his bent knees and his face pointing upwards  
towards the gray skies. The warm summer rain had  
soaked his clothing through and had molded them to  
his body.  
  
A warm gentle hand touched her own and  
Kitsuryuu looked back, startled. Koenma had taken  
the fingers of her right hand lightly in his own  
and was bringing them up to his face. He gave her  
an incredibly charming smile and kissed the back  
of her hand. The gesture put Kitsuryuu at ease  
and she found herself smiling back at him.  
  
/It is a pleasure to finally met you,  
Kitsuryuu./  
  
Kitsuryuu was so shocked that Koenma could  
sign that she didn't see the red haired human  
leave, but she did miss his presence. With  
Mechiko's help, Kitsuryuu sat down on the long  
seat and Koenma joined her. The two of them began  
talking and Kitsuryuu realized that she genuinely  
liked this man... her father.  
  
The realization that this man could possibly  
be her father finally sank into Kitsuryuu's mind.   
She felt almost giddy with the knowledge that she  
finally had someone like her friends did. Someone  
to take care of her and love her. For some  
unknown reason Kitsuryuu looked out the window and  
searched the edge of the forest for her fire  
friend. When she could not find him, it saddened  
her. She had wanted to share this happiness with  
him. Her father had come for her.  
==============  
end chapter 20 


	23. twenty-oneA

The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 21  
written by Kat Mayes  
  
  
Kurama ran cold water over the sallow cut  
along his thump from one of his microscope slides  
and cursed under his breath. He turned the water  
off and reached for the box of paper towels on the  
corner of the sink. The white piece of absorbent  
material would not let go of the inside of the  
box. Cursing quietly again, Kurama gave a quick,  
sharp tug on the towel and it broke free, but not  
without disastrous results.  
  
The momentum that Kurama had inadvertently  
given the paper towel box gave the rectangular  
object the ability to roll. He tried to stop it,  
but the box was well beyond his reach. Before the  
traveling towels stopped they ran into the test  
tube rack that Kurama had placed dangerously close  
to the edge of his lab bench. Kurama watched in  
horror as the box knocked one of the rack's  
rubberized feet over the edge. For a moment he  
thought that the other three feet of the rack  
would hold, but he had over filled that side of  
the rack with test tubes and all of it went down.   
Rack, test tubes, paper towels and a month's worth  
of work... gone.  
  
"Shit!" Kurama exclaimed as he threw the one  
paper towel he was able to rescue into the floor.  
  
Angrily, Kurama grabbed the near by broom and  
dust pan (the ones he moved closer to his lab area  
a few weeks ago) and started towards the mess he  
had created. On the way, the end of the wooden  
broom handle became entangled with the rubber  
tubing of his filtration apparatus and before  
Kurama had a chance to stop he pulled the  
expensive glass equipment over the edge.  
  
Kurama didn't bother to turn around. He  
closed his eyes and waited for the crash. When  
none came he cautiously looked over his shoulder  
and found his supervisor trying to balance the  
glass apparatus in her small hands.  
  
"Some timely help would be appreciated,  
Shuuichi," she chided gently, and together they  
got the filtration equipment on the bench without  
a scratch.   
  
"Midorikawa-san, I am so sorry. I'll clean  
up this mess immediately," Kurama said quickly as  
he once again grabbed the broom and headed to the  
mess.  
  
He didn't even get a step before his  
supervisor took the deadly weapon from his hands  
and shook her head.   
  
"Shuuichi, you have been under a lot of  
stress since your *vacation* last summer, and even  
though you won't talk about it I know that it's  
tearing you up. That's why I'm demanding that you  
take a leave of absence until you feel that you  
can return to work in a more... present state of  
mind."  
  
"But, Midorikawa-san... my project isn't  
finished! I'm the only one that knows how to  
complete it and..."  
  
"Shuuichi... stop... listen to yourself. If  
you don't standback and take some time off your  
going to burn yourself out. Now... you have  
accumulated enough sick time and vacation days to  
take the next *year* off if you wanted to and I am  
giving you a direct order to use it."  
  
Kurama tried to protest but his supervisor  
would not hear of it. She just walked around him,  
with broom in hand and started to clean up his  
mess. When he tried to take his lab notebook, she  
took that from him as well, signed the page he had  
been working on and snapped it shut.  
  
"Shuuichi, go home!" she commanded him with a  
shove to his shoulder.  
  
Kurama obeyed hesitantly and walked to his  
desk. He took off his lab coat and laid it over  
the back of his chair as he grabbed his sports  
coat. With his free hand, Kurama touched the  
small flowering plant on his desk and forced it  
into a hibernation so that it would not suffer  
while he was gone. He put on his coat, picked up  
his brief case and left the lab.  
  
Even at ten in the morning the street was  
full and bustling, but Kurama didn't take notice.   
He kept to the side of the walkway to avoid the  
fast movers in the center and let his mind wander.   
Kurama wasn't in a hurry to return home, or what  
was left of his home. An empty house full of  
memories wasn't his idea of a place to 'get away  
from it all'. It was still hard for him to  
believe that only a few short months ago he had  
everything he thought he could ever want, then the  
summer rains came.  
  
Only three months ago Kurama was content and  
his life was in well placed order. Hiei had  
finally settled down enough that he spent most of  
his time in the Ningenkai, Kurama had finally  
reached a position in his company that he could  
make his own hours and spend as much time as he  
pleased with his lover, and his mother was happier  
than he had ever seen her. Everything was  
perfect... then the rains came.  
  
Kyuukai had been an unexpected, but welcome  
surprise. In fact, that little boy was the only  
thing that was keeping Kurama going after his well  
ordered world fell apart. Right now Kurama's  
young son was at his grandmother's, soaking up all  
the love and attention the older lady could dish  
out. The love and attention that Shiori had been  
keeping intentionally or unintentionally from  
Kurama after he allowed Koenma to adopt Kitsuryuu  
without a word.  
  
Kitsuryuu... everything seemed to go back to  
her. Some days Kurama thought that he hated her.   
Because of her, Hiei had almost completely removed  
himself from Kurama's life. Because of her,  
Shiori and Shuuichi were more that a little upset  
with him. Because of her, Kurama had lost all his  
concentration. Because of her, Kurama could  
hardly sleep at night wondering if she was all  
right, hoping that she was happy.  
  
Kurama knew that he could never hate his  
daughter. None of what happened was Kitsuryuu's  
fault. As his mother was so fond of reminding  
him, no one had bothered to ask Kitsuryuu if she  
wanted Koenma to adopt her or if she wanted to be  
with her fathers. No one had told her the truth  
about who she was. No one had allowed her to make  
up her own mind.  
  
A gust of warmer air told Kurama that he had  
arrived at the underground train terminal and he  
changed his trajectory so that he veered in the  
correct direction. Once down on the platform he  
watched the train that would have taken him to his  
home go by. Not really worrying about missing the  
train, Kurama found a place against the train  
station wall between an elderly man and a pregnant  
lady holding a baby and waited for the next train.  
  
Kurama looked up at the rotating schedules of  
trains and saw the one he normally took to pick  
Kyuukai up from his grandmother's house, but today  
was not a normal day. Today Kurama had to get  
ready for Kitsuryuu's coronation, after all, he  
was a close friend of her 'father'. It was  
expected of him to be there.  
  
A heavy, defeated sigh escaped Kurama as he  
thought about how close Koenma and Kitsuryuu had  
become over the last three months. Koenma had  
allowed Kitsuryuu to come to him at her own pace  
and never once pushed her into anything. It only  
took a couple of weeks of constant visits for  
Kitsuryuu to decide that she wanted to go to the  
Reikai with her 'father'.  
  
Kitsuryuu was going to school and getting the  
education that her fathers could never have given  
her. Koenma had the best therapists, dead or  
alive, working to help Kitsuryuu learn to get pass  
the mental block that kept her from hearing.   
Hell, Koenma had given Kitsuryuu a kingdom, what  
did he have to offer her.  
  
The baby next to Kurama started to whine and  
sniffle, despite its mother's efforts to keep it  
happy. The mother bounced the infant in her arms  
while rocking it in the attempt to calm it. Her  
movements were large and awkward because of her  
misshapen size and for a brief moment Kurama  
thought she would wabble over. When the child  
started to really cry Kurama thought about finding  
another place to wait for the train.  
  
"Excuse me, sir. Would you do me a really  
big favor and hold Yoshi for me?"  
  
It took Kurama a moment to realize that the  
lady was speaking to him, but before he had a  
chance to accept or decline, the pregnant mother  
shoved her crying infant into his arms. Kurama  
stood gasping like a landed fish as he watched the  
woman walk away and round a corner. The baby gave  
a particularly high pitched wale and Kurama  
thought that his ears might pop.  
  
Kyuukai hardly ever cried except when he was  
hungry or when Hiei had been gone for a long time.   
Kurama's son was still strongly attached to his  
'birth' father and from what Yukina told him that  
was the way Koorimei children were. Koorimei  
infants could always tell if their mother was too  
far away and a Koorimei mother could never leave  
their infant for more than a day. Yukina told him  
that this would last for the next few months.  
  
It was this strong bond between Hiei and  
Kyuukai that guaranteed Kurama that he would see  
his lover at least two or three times a week.   
Hiei mostly visited Kyuukai when the baby was at  
Shiori's home. But, on the occasions when  
Kurama's mother took the infant with her to a  
friend's house or when she would go shopping, Hiei  
was force to come to the apartment. On those  
nights Kurama hoped to convince Hiei to return  
home to him and Kyuukai.  
  
Kurama had tried every trick in the book to  
get Hiei to talk to him about Kitsuryuu but the  
fire demon always refused. Hiei wouldn't  
acknowledge that he even had a daughter or that  
letting her go was killing him inside. To Hiei  
the subject was closed and it would never be  
talked about again. Just thinking about how much  
Hiei was silently suffering caused Kurama's guilt  
to the surface.  
  
Shiori had convinced Kurama to go shopping  
with her for both Kyuukai and Kitsuryuu the night  
Koenma came for his daughter. Kurama had not  
wanted to go but he had agreed to because  
Kitsuryuu had finally come out of her coma that  
afternoon and the girl did need some clothes of  
her own.   
  
Kurama had returned to the Kuwabara home with  
a pile of stuff jammed into his car. While  
shopping for various things a 16 year old would  
need Kurama had discovered that he was really  
looking forward to learning about his daughter.   
The instant that he had pulled into the massive  
driveway, however, Kurama had known that something  
was very wrong. He had seen Hiei siting at the  
base of a tree, knees drawn up to his chest and  
arms crossed on his knees, looking up at the  
stars.  
  
Kurama had told Shiori that he would join her  
in the house in a moment and had gone to see what  
had happened while he was away. Hiei hadn't  
acknowledged Kurama's presence, which was normal  
behavior for the fire demon. But when Kurama had  
placed his hand on his lover's shoulder Hiei  
started badly and had his sword half drawn before  
Kurama was able to stop him.  
  
It had disturbed Kurama greatly that Hiei had  
not noticed his presence, but more upsetting than  
that had been the look on fire demon's face. Hiei  
had looked totally defeated, lost and older  
somehow. When Kurama had asked what was wrong the  
only thing Hiei would say was 'She's gone'.   
Instantly Kurama had jumped to the conclusion that  
Kitsuryuu had taken a turn for the worse while he  
had been gone and died.  
  
He had run full speed to the house despite  
the painful clutch in his chest and the sickening  
pressure in his gut. Yuusuke must have seen him  
coming because he had been there to stop Kurama  
before he entered. It had taken Yuusuke several  
minutes to get Kurama to listen to him because of  
the red haired man's distress.  
  
Somehow, finally, Yuusuke had gotten through  
to Kurama and had explained the events that had  
happened that evening. Koenma had come to see  
Kitsuryuu, to tell her that he was going to adopt  
her and take her to the Reikai. The son of the  
king of the dead had been completely taken by  
surprise when Hiei had threatened to kill him if  
he did any such thing. Koenma had been totally  
unaware that Kurama and Hiei were Kitsuryuu's  
fathers, a glitch in the computer he had said.   
While Yukina held Hiei back, Koenma had explained  
why he had started the paperwork for adopting  
Kitsuryuu.  
  
Yuusuke had told Kurama of Hiei's surprise  
and how he had demanded that Koenma find a way to  
save his daughter. Koenma had believed and still  
believes that Kitsuryuu's only chance was to  
become his daughter and under his protection she  
would survive. Kurama, like Hiei before him, gave  
into Koenma's plan and allowed the young god to  
take their daughter without a fight, for her sake.   
They even agreed to keep Kitsuryuu's true parents  
a secret from her.  
  
If he and Hiei acknowledged that Kitsuryuu  
was their daughter then she would lose the  
protection that Koenma's plan offered her. There  
was an extremely small chance that the council  
might release Kitsuryuu on a parole type basis if  
she went to trial instead, but if the council  
found out that Kitsuryuu's fathers were both  
ex-felons it would not do her case any good.  
  
All night long Koenma and Kurama tried to  
come up with a way to save Kitsuryuu without  
Koenma having to adopt her, but they could think  
of nothing. Morning finally came and Kurama was  
forced to decide if he was going to tell Kitsuryuu  
the truth about who her fathers were or was he  
going to let her go without a word. Kurama hadn't  
decided when Koori had come to tell Koenma that  
Kitsuryuu was ready to see him.  
  
Kurama had bolted to his feet and had set his  
resolve to tell Kitsuryuu the truth. He couldn't  
let her go without saying something. He had  
walked into the living room with every intention  
of telling her, but when he saw the surprise and  
fear in her eyes when she first thought that he  
was her father, he paused. He had forgotten how  
frightened Kitsuryuu was of humans. It had been  
his own fear of rejection that had kept his tongue  
still. Kurama had been so afraid that Kitsuryuu  
would reject him outright because of his current  
humanity that he allowed Koenma to take his place.   
From that moment on, Kurama lost any right to call  
himself Kitsuryuu's father.  
  
"Thank you so much for watching, Yoshi. He  
gets really cranky when he doesn't get his morning  
juice."  
  
Kurama was snapped out of his daydream  
memories by the return of Yoshi's mother. He had  
not realized it, but the infant boy had quieted  
down some, being somewhat content to play with and  
eat Kurama's long hair. Kurama quickly handed the  
boy to his mother and pulled out a handkerchief to  
wipe the baby drool from his shoulder and hair.  
  
"You're very good with children. Do you have  
any little ones of your own?" the young mother  
asked as she popped the baby's newly filled juice  
bottle into his hungry mouth.  
  
"Yes. One... two... no one..." Kurama  
stammered, having never been asked that question  
before.  
  
The lady smiled, "Which is it? One or two?"  
  
"Two," Kurama replied nervously as he looked  
at the time, "It's just that I have a hard time  
thinking of the older one as my little girl."  
  
"How old are they?"  
  
"Three months and seventeen years today."  
  
"Wow. I bet that will be some birthday  
party," the woman said.  
  
The sound of train brakes griping the metal  
rails caught the mother's attention and she  
quickly gathered her belongings and boarded the  
train. Kurama was glad to see her go, but the  
innocent question she had asked left a lingering  
hole.   
  
When Kurama's train arrived he boarded  
quickly still thinking about the mother's words.   
Kitsuryuu's birthday party *was* going to be a  
gayla event. It wasn't everyday that a god  
adopted a unknown girl as his daughter. The party  
was more to pacify everyone's curiosity about  
Kitsuryuu than anything else. The guest list was  
very impressive. Gods, demi-gods and the elite of  
both the Ningenkai and Makai where going to be  
there.   
  
He and Hiei had been invited to Kitsuryuu's  
birthday party by the birthday girl herself. She  
had come all the way into the city a week ago,  
despite her fear of humans, to personally invite  
them. Somehow Kitsuryuu had come on one of the  
rare nights when Hiei happened to be home.  
  
The two of them had been in one of their  
"non-discussions" about Kitsuryuu when the  
mentioned girl walked into the room, Kyuukai in  
her arms. It had surprised them more than just a  
little to turn and find Kitsuryuu sitting on the  
couch watching them "not fight". Hiei had turn  
instantly silent and Kurama had been at a loss for  
words. When Kurama had finally asked how she had  
gotten in Kitsuryuu replied that she could open  
any door or window if she wanted to.  
  
The old side of Kurama had been a little  
proud to find out that his unique 'abilities' had  
been passed on, but the new side just had to shake  
his head disapprovingly. Kurama had asked why she  
had come all the way into the city and Kitsuryuu's  
face had lit up. She had quickly bounced to her  
feet handed Kyuukai to him and reached into her  
jacket pocket.  
  
Since living with Koenma, Kitsuryuu clothes  
had taken a turn for the better. Not only did  
they all fit, they were very flattering. That  
night her hair had been pulled up into a ponytail  
and her newly cut bangs had showed signs of  
wanting to flare out like Hiei's did. She had  
been wearing normal teenager type clothes; tight  
black jeans, white tanktop and running shoes. Her  
jacket however was one you would never find in a  
store.  
  
As part of Kitsuryuu training 'in the right  
of the law', Koenma had enrolled her into the  
cadet program for the Royal Guard Special Unit and  
the jacket reflected her status. The black  
leather jacket was short, only coming to her  
waist, and Kitsuryuu always wore it with the  
sleeves pushed up her arms. Kitsuryuu's new  
wardrobe would help her blend into any crowd as a  
normal, everyday teenager despite her unusual,  
dramatic looks.  
  
Kitsuryuu had pulled out a lavishly decorated  
royal blue envelope with Kurama and Hiei's names  
embossed on the front in gold. The young lady had  
given a graceful and flawless curtsey and had  
handed Kurama the envelope. He had slowly opened  
it, fearing he knew what was inside, and he had  
been right.  
  
Kurama had a hard time making his voice work  
to accept the invitation. Kitsuryuu had been  
clearly pleased that he was coming and quickly  
turned to Hiei. Kurama's lover had stood there in  
silence for a moment and then refused. Before  
either Kurama or Kitsuryuu could protest Hiei had  
been gone. Kitsuryuu had been very upset and  
confused. She had graciously thanked Kurama for  
his participation in the most important night of  
her life and left, asking only that he ask Hiei to  
reconsider his decision.  
  
Kurama's train came to a sharp stop and  
because he had been lost in his own memories he  
was taken off guard and thrown to the floor.   
Kurama's brief case popped open and its contents  
spilled onto the train floor. As quickly as he  
could, Kurama tried to jam all his papers back in  
before the train left the terminal.  
  
Kurama just made it out the doors as they  
closed behind him. Completely rumpled and out of  
sorts Kurama left the train station. Out of habit  
he started walking quickly home, but caught  
himself before he made it two blocks. Kurama had  
forgotten that it was still the middle of the day  
and if he went strait home he'd be alone for hours  
before it was time to go to the party. So instead  
of going home he decided to run a few errand.  
  
Kurama had no idea that it would take him  
seven hours to finally get home. He had never had  
such a miserable day in his life. First Kurama  
went to a little restaurant for lunch hoping to  
pass some time and ended up paying way too much  
for burnt and horrible food. He left the  
restaurant and decided to go grocery shopping on  
his way to the cleaners. Apparently everyone else  
had the same idea of going shopping on their lunch  
break and Kurama spent 2 hours elbowing and  
pushing his way around the market.  
  
When he had finally made it out of there,  
Kurama tried to walk to the dry cleaners, but his  
normal route had been cut off by construction.   
After walking three miles out of his way Kurama  
made it to the cleaners. Once there he realized  
that he had lost his claim ticket on the train  
when his briefcase had exploded. For the next  
hour Kurama argued with the new 'by the book'  
clerk for his tux. Finally an employee that knew  
him arrived and vouched for him, but when they  
finally started looking for his tux they found  
that they had lost it.  
  
Kurama spent another 2 hours trying to find a  
rental place that had something his size available  
and was willing to rent it to him on such short  
notice. When Kurama arrived home he had less that  
45 minutes to get ready. On the way to his  
bedroom with the tux slung over his shoulder he  
threw all his groceries into the garbage. The ice  
cream that he had bought on impulse had melted on  
everything making it all useless.  
  
With record braking speed Kurama showered and  
dressed. He looked into his bedroom mirror and  
found that by some miracle the tux was a good fit  
and looked great. Noticing the time, Kurama  
quickly scanned the room for his dress shoes.   
Five minutes later Kurama was throwing all the  
clothes, shoes and miscellaneous stuff out of his  
closet in the attempt of finding his dress shoes.  
  
A giggle from behind him startled Kurama so  
badly that he bumped his head on the door frame  
trying to turn to see who it was. Botan, his ride  
for the evening, was posed outside his window on  
her oar trying to hide her laughter behind the  
long, elegantly embroidered sleeve of her kimono.  
  
"What!" Kurama demanded as he rubbed the  
small bump on the side of his head.  
  
"Kitsuryuu was doing the exact same thing  
when I left the palace. Her training exercise had  
run over and she was going crazy trying to get  
ready," Botan told him.  
  
At the mention of his daughter's name Kurama  
sobered a bit. The reason that he was doing all  
of this came back to him. Kurama looked into his  
mirror and straitened his tie and jacket. He gave  
one more look around the room and found his shoes  
exactly where he left them by the door.  
  
"Is... is her training going well," Kurama  
asked, trying to make it sound as conversational  
as possible.  
  
"She had a lot of trouble in the beginning  
after Koenma removed her collar. Kitsuryuu just  
didn't know how to deal with that much power  
without it so he made another one. Now she's the  
head of her class. If she keeps going like this  
she'll have advanced out of cadet training faster  
than any other trainee."  
  
Kurama paused and looked up at the Reikai  
messenger, "She still has a slave collar?", he  
asked, his voice sounding harsh even to him.  
  
"Oh... no, no. This collar was made so that  
it will slowly stop working over the span of a  
year, so that Kitsuryuu will have time to adjust.   
It's more of a necklace than a collar, you'll see.   
Is Hiei coming?" Botan asked obviously trying to  
change the subject.  
  
"No, Hiei is *not* coming," Kurama said  
shortly as he jammed his last shoe on. "Can we go  
now?"  
  
Botan was taken aback by Kurama's sharp tone  
and quickly nodded her head. Kurama felt more  
guilt when he saw the hurt look in his old  
friend's eyes. Botan wasn't trying to upset him,  
but she had. The topic of Hiei's non-attendance  
to Kitsuryuu's birthday/coronation party was a  
sore one. Kurama apologized and Botan quickly  
accepted, looking very happy that their brief  
conflict was over.  
  
Kurama went to the top drawer of his dresser  
and hoped that his luck would hold out and  
Kitsuryuu's presents would still be their. Luck  
was still with him. Kurama picked up the palm  
size box wrapped in a exquisite silk scarf that  
was an heirloom of his human mother's family. The  
scarf was tied into place with a silk ribbon and  
Shiori had attached a tiny card to the ribbon.   
Beside it was a silver hinged, crystal box with  
Kurama's present inside.   
========  
end part a 


	24. twenty-oneB

begin part b  
  
It was a single morning glory blossom that  
Kurama had made for his daughter. He had spent  
the better part of a week during his spare time  
creating it. The flower was one of a kind, the  
only bloom that would never die as long as either  
Kurama or Kitsuryuu possessed it. Kurama had  
worked long and diligently to make the petal of  
this flower match the color of Kitsuryuu's fiery  
hair. Kurama placed each present in a separate  
pocket and turned to the window.  
  
The two of them boarded Botan's oar and  
Kurama held on to the magical wood with all his  
might. It turned out that he needed have  
bothered. Either Botan's flying had settled down  
over the years or she was trying to avoid  
upsetting him again. What ever the reason, Kurama  
was thankful. A short distance from Kurama's  
apartment Botan opened a portal in the empty air  
in front of them and they were instantly in the  
Reikai.  
  
Kurama could hardly believe the sight that  
was before his eyes. The once very proper and  
very stoic palace was transformed into a beautiful  
garden wonderland. The outside was draped in long  
vines of criss-crossing ivy and trailing flowers.   
Banners of royal blue and purple trimmed in gold  
hung from the massive open doorway.   
  
They entered after a brief stop at the guard  
station and Kurama saw that the splendor wasn't  
just outside, but inside as well. The entry hall  
was lined with guards dressed in their finest  
uniforms. Above each of their heads hung a  
crystal chandelier, but the light inside wasn't a  
common bulb, but a small fire. Something about  
the way the flames flickered inside the slightly  
blue tinted chandelier caught Kurama's attention.   
The fire was youkai and the chandelier wasn't  
crystal, but ice.  
  
"Who...?"  
  
Botan giggled at Kurama's dumbfounded  
expression, "Kitsuryuu is a very talented young  
lady. She designed all the decorations and even  
created a few of them."  
  
A few?! There were at least a hundred  
chandeliers in this hallway alone. It was obvious  
that they were basic suspended spells, but it  
would still take an enormous about of power to  
initially generate so many of them. Exactly how  
powerful was Kitsuryuu?  
  
Kurama followed Botan blindly, far too  
interested in looking at his daughter's handiwork.   
As they walked, Kurama silently and unseeingly  
tested the delicate works of art for durability  
and found them to be more than adequate for their  
purpose. He was so detracted by the chandeliers  
that he didn't even realize he had arrived into  
the Great Hall until he ran right into somebody's  
back.  
  
Kurama quickly made his apologies and pulled  
his attention back to the present. The familiar,  
deep throated laughter that was in response to his  
apology caught Kurama off guard. He looked up to  
see exactly who he had run into and found himself  
face to face with Juu. Kurama had to blink  
several times to make sure he was seeing what he  
thought he was seeing.  
  
Juu had completely transformed himself. He  
was clean shaven and his purple mohawk and 'tails'  
were still there but neatly combed and trimmed.   
Juu's normal outfit of fur trimmed leather vest  
and fur covered, black leather pants had been  
replaced with a very nicely cut tux. But what  
probably surprised Kurama the most was the  
smell... there wasn't one. No sake, no sweat, no  
hair gel, no blood, no gore... just the faint  
aroma of shaving cream and aftershave.  
  
"Juu... is that really you?!" Kurama almost  
squeaked with amusement.  
  
Juu gave a sour face and refused to respond,  
but the group around him snickered under their  
breath. Kurama looked around at the small group  
that had formed at the entryway of the Great Hall.   
Yuusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara, Yukina, Rinko (had he  
really grown that much!) and Jin where all  
together a short distance away from dance floor  
(and the buffet).  
  
The music the band played was upbeat for the  
moment and the band stand looked like it was set  
for both a symphony orchestra and a rock band.   
One of the first things that Kurama notice when he  
looked around the room was how huge it was, he  
could barely see the ceiling. The second thing he  
noticed was that Enma himself was in attendance.   
The God of the Dead sat at the far end of the room  
in a throne that was fitting for his size and  
stature. One of the Reikai's many messagers  
floated on her oar next to his ear, talking to  
him.  
  
" Hey... Kurama, there someone hear that has  
been looking for you all night," Rinko told  
Kurama, with a big teasing smile on his handsome  
young face.  
  
"Yeah, Kurama. What did you do to get that  
pretty little thing's attention?" Jin joked along  
with Rinko.  
  
Kurama was totally lost as to who they could  
be talking about. There where lots of people that  
would like to get their hands on him, one way or  
another.   
  
"Their talking about Kitsuryuu," Keiko told  
him to clarify," She's asked us to wait here for  
you. She wanted to know the moment that you  
arrived."  
  
Kurama almost felt himself blush. Which was  
ridiculous. He was almost 500 years old, he'd  
forgotten how to blush a long time ago. But none  
the less he felt that nervous heat in his stomach  
and the temperature in the room rise. Unknowingly  
Kurama tugged at his sleeves, buttoned and  
unbuttoned his jacket and all for the amusement of  
his friends.  
  
"Well, where can I find her?" Kurama asked  
after he was sure he was ready.  
  
"She's right over..." Yukina began, but her  
husband's hand on her shoulder stopped her.  
  
"Koenma is right over there. He'll know  
where she's at," Kuwabara interjected quickly with  
a wink and nod to Yuusuke.  
  
Yuusuke grinned back. Keiko and Yukina  
exchanged looks and then grinned knowingly at each  
other. The small group seemed to know what the  
joke was, but Kurama was clueless. Feeling a  
little annoyed that they were playing some kind of  
joke at his expense, Kurama started out on his own  
to find Kitsuryuu.  
  
From across the room Kurama spotted Koenma  
and headed in his direction. Koenma was with a  
group of people that Kurama didn't recognize, but  
knew instinctually were very important. Koenma  
was also gallantly dressed for the occasion. He  
was wearing a copy of his normal royal blue outfit  
and sash, but this one was made out of silk and  
gold thread. Where Koenma's usual suit was plain  
and bare this one had designs embroidered in  
silver and gold. He even had a ornamental sword  
at his one hip and a pretty girl at the other.   
Probably one of his messagers, Kurama guessed as  
he neared the group.  
  
Kurama straightened his tie and took in a  
deep breath. His goal for the evening was just to  
get through the night without incident. He was  
hoping that after he made his rounds of the room,  
let everyone know that he was here that he could  
sneak out early and avoid the big ceremony at the  
end of the party. Kurama heaved a great sigh and  
felt the weight of the world and lies on his  
shoulders as he tapped on Koenma's shoulder.  
  
"Koenma, I was wondering if you could tell me  
where I could find Kitsuryuu. I was told she was  
looking for me," Kurama asked his friend as he  
nodded a hello to the group of people he didn't  
know.  
  
"Kurama..." Koenma laughed under his breath,  
"She's right here!"  
  
For a moment Kurama thought that Koenma had  
lost his mind. He looked at the group and could  
not find his daughter. Kurama turned to Koenma to  
inform him that he was not in the mood for jokes  
when he caught a glimpse of Koenma's lady friend.  
  
Kitsuryuu stood beside her adopted father  
looking straight at Kurama and still the fox demon  
could not believe that this woman before him was  
his daughter. Kitsuryuu's fiery hair had been  
painstakingly curled in to long elegant spirals  
and pulled up and away from her face with ruby  
encrusted, red gold combs. When she turn in the  
light, glimpses of tiny gold chains at staggered  
lengths with ruby attached to the ends could be  
seen in the curls.  
  
The gown that she wore was completely  
backless, which Kurama had noticed as he had  
approached from behind. The evening dress was  
made of deep, blood red, crushed velvet that made  
Kitsuryuu's hair look like polished ebony and her  
red highlights glow with their own light. The  
gown was cut in the front to be low, but not so  
low that it was indecent by most normal ,  
non-parental type people.   
  
The low cut neckline was made up for in the  
length of the dress. It was clearly designed to  
brush the floor as Kitsuryuu walked and flow  
around her as she moved. The finger wide straps  
that where the only thing keeping the entire dress  
up were placed far out on Kitsuryuu's shoulders so  
that nothing distracted from her face, her hair or  
the necklace she wore.  
  
The necklace was deceivingly simple. It  
appeared to be a circlet of solid red gold that  
V-ed slightly at the bottom with a good sized red  
jewel placed on the point of the V. It was the  
slight twinkle of ruby, red light from within the  
gem that gave it away as being something more than  
it was.   
  
Kitsuryuu wore no make-up or any other  
jewelry besides the necklace and the combs... she  
didn't need it. It was becoming increasingly  
harder for Kurama to believe that this was the  
same girl that he saw just a two weeks ago run  
Mechiko through the mud rather harshly. All  
Kurama could do was stare at her, he couldn't even  
speak. He saw her give him a little, devilish,  
half smile that she could have only gotten from  
one person.  
  
"Do I look that different, Kurama-san?"   
  
Kurama felt like he had just been hit with a  
100 kg weight right upside the head. Kitsuryuu  
spoke! She didn't sign... she spoke. The words  
had been low, so low that the music from the band  
almost drowned them out, but defiantly uttered by  
her lips. Her voice was deep and husky probably  
from being unused for so long, but somehow Kurama  
thought that even if Kitsuryuu had of been  
speaking all her life she would have sounded the  
same. Sultry was the only word to describe  
Kitsuryuu. Between the dress, the devil gleam in  
her eyes and the raw silk voice that would put a  
weaker man into a trance, Kitsuryuu was quit an  
alluring package.  
  
"I do believe that this is the first time  
that my dear Kurama has been completely and  
totally speechless and captivated. You should be  
ashamed of yourself! She's a hundredth your age  
and your married no less"  
  
Yomi's good natured teasing was like a slap  
of ice water in Kurama's mind. 'She's my  
daughter! How dare he suggest that I...' Kurama  
fumed silently, forgetting for a moment that no  
one knew that little bit of information besides  
his close friends, himself and Hiei. Swallowing  
the need to ram Yomi through the closest wall  
Kurama smiled.  
  
"I was just stunned that this young woman was  
the same girl that dragged my niece through the  
mud not too long ago," Kurama explained with half  
the truth.  
  
"Ahh... I see. Then you won't mind if I take  
my dance I was promised earlier now," Yomi said as  
he took Kitsuryuu's hand and kissed the back of  
it.  
  
"Yomi-san you flirt entirely too much for a  
man in your position," Kitsuryuu said as she  
smiled, clearly enjoying the attention that she  
had just reprimanded.  
  
"If I promise that my son will behave himself  
for the rest of the evening would you allow me my  
dance."  
  
"If you promise that little, rat bastard will  
fall into a lake with a stone collar, you can have  
every dance," Kitsuryuu growled out though her  
clenched fangs.  
  
"Kitsuryuu!" Koenma exclaimed.  
  
"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you Father, but I  
have to say what is on my mind. It's the only way  
the necklace works," Kitsuryuu said, only looking  
slightly apologetic.  
  
"Do not worry yourself over it Koenma," Yomi  
said as he took Kitsuryuu's arm and started to led  
her to the dance floor. Before he got too far  
away he turned and looked straight at Kurama with  
his sightless eyes. "Being completely honest with  
the people closest to you is the only way anyone  
can be truly happy."  
  
As Yomi walked away with Kitsuryuu in tow,  
Kurama knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that his  
old partner in crime knew his little secret.   
Kurama began to worry how Yomi had found it out.   
Was he told... did he figure it out on his own...   
  
Kurama quickly excused himself from Koenma  
and backed up into the shadows of the room.   
Kurama needed a moment to compose himself.   
Kitsuryuu was speaking, alluring more attention  
than he was comfortable with and Yomi was  
obviously trying to tell him that his secret  
wasn't as well kept as he had once thought.   
Kurama's plans to get though this evening without  
incident was starting to look like an impossible  
dream.  
  
"Maryoku! Will you please stop mopping there  
and come and enjoy the party!" Kurama heard  
Mechiko say from the other side of the potted  
plant that he had chosen to hide beside.  
  
"What is there to enjoy? This whole party is  
a farce! A lie to fool Kitsuryuu until the  
ceremony is over," Maryoku replied angrily.  
  
"I know... I know..." Mechiko said, loosing  
much of her wind, "But can't we just be happy for  
her now? Maybe no one will notice. Maybe  
Kitsuryuu will never find out."  
  
"Are you crazy?! Of course she'll find out!   
She's already suspicious that we're keeping a  
secret from her. How can I possibly be happy for  
her? Everything that they do is putting her into  
more danger!"  
  
"What are you talking about, Maryoku?"  
Mechiko asked, sounding more worried and deflated  
than before.  
  
"Think about it for a minute. Both of her  
fathers are heirs to 1/3 of the Makai, plus she's  
being adopted by Koenma which makes her heir to  
the Reikai. They couldn't have made her a better  
target if they painted a bull's eye on her back!"  
  
Kurama felt his blood freeze when he heard  
Maryoku's words. The boy was right. Kitsuryuu  
would be a perfect target. Kurama's evening was  
looking blacker and darker by the moment. Then it  
got worse.  
  
"OK... let's forget the fact that someone  
could use Kitsuryuu as leverage against Koenma,  
Hiei, Kurama or even our Father. Think of all the  
youkai out there that have a death wish for either  
Hiei or Kurama. And I'm not talking D or C-class.   
I mean the A, S and Quest-class demons."  
  
"But, if nobody knows that she's their  
daughter then it's all right," Mechiko tried to  
defend.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous! You've seen the way  
she fights, the way she moves and the way she  
speaks. She couldn't be more like Hiei if she  
tried. In the dark or in the middle of a crowded  
fight it would be easy to mistake her for Hiei,  
despite the height difference. And even if  
someone was short sighted enough to not see that,  
when she changes into her youko form she's looks  
exactly like Kurama."  
  
"Well, what are they suppose to do Maryoku,  
if your so smart and their idiots?" Mechiko said,  
voicing Kurama's own question.  
  
"They should have talked to Kitsuryuu and  
told her the situation from the very beginning.   
If they had have gone about it in the right way  
Koenma could have adopted Kitsuryuu to protect her  
from Reikai law and she still would have known who  
her true parents were. That way she at least  
would have a clue to what was going on when  
somebody attacked her calling her by one of her  
father's names. It's too late for them to help  
her now, but not me."  
  
"What do you mean?" Mechiko asked her  
brother.  
  
"I've joined the Royal Guard's Special Unit  
the one that Kitsuryuu is in. That way I can at  
least watch her back." Maryoku said with an air of  
finality.  
  
"Besides the fact the Dad's gonna kill ya,  
how are you going to pass the basic training? You  
hate to fight!"  
  
"I may hate to fight, but that does mean that  
I can't or won't."  
  
"Well, if your serious about doing this then  
we better start getting you beefed up before you  
go. And I'm coming with you... to watch *your*  
back."  
  
Kurama heard the twins leave and was left to  
think about the truth in Maryoku's words. The  
young man had brought up points that Kurama  
himself had not thought of. Of course any youkai  
that he or Hiei had crossed or double-crossed  
would love the chance to take a pot-shot at their  
children. Kurama felt a moments panic realizing  
that Shiori was at home alone with Kyuukai with no  
one to watch over them. The need to return home  
as quickly as possible was irresistible him.  
  
Kurama was halfway to the door when a light  
warm hand on his arm almost made him jump right  
out of his skin. A sharp reprimand was on the tip  
of his tongue, but when he saw Kitsuryuu looking  
back at him as startled as he was he held it back.  
  
"Are you leaving so soon, Kurama-san?"  
Kitsuryuu asked, her disappointment showing  
clearly in her words.  
  
"Yes, I'm afraid so. I have to..." Kurama  
stopped for a moment to think of an a appropriate  
reason, "...check in on my mother. She wasn't  
feeling too well when I last saw her this  
morning."  
  
Kurama saw the worry in Kitsuryuu's face and  
wished that he had have come up with a better lie  
than that... or maybe tell Kitsuryuu the truth for  
once.  
  
"Is Grandmother ill? Maybe I should call a  
healer to go with you."  
  
The quickly beating heart in Kurama's chest  
suddenly stopped beating with a painful squeeze.   
Kurama replayed Kitsuryuu's words inside his head  
and could only get to the second word before his  
mind froze to a halt.   
  
"Grandmother?" Kurama asked without even  
realizing that he had spoke.  
  
"What? Oh that..." Kitsuryuu grinned and  
even blushed a little, "Shiori-san asked me to  
call her Grandmother. She said that it would be  
rude for me to call her by her informal name since  
a grandmother is what she is now. Is it all right  
that I call her that?" she asked obviously upset  
that she had offended him.  
  
"No, it's perfectly all right that you call  
her that. I was surprised, that's all."  
  
"Do you want me to call a healer for you?"  
Kitsuryuu asked again.  
  
"No, that won't be necessary. I was only  
worried that Kyuukai was taking more of a toll on  
her than she is admitting to. I just wanted to go  
home early so that she wouldn't have to watch him  
all evening," Kurama lied again, knowing that if  
his mother ever found out he was a dead man.  
  
"Well if you need to go you better leave now  
while Yomi-san is distracted. He said he wanted  
to talk to you about 'heirs', and he can talk a  
LOT so you better hurry before he spots you,"  
Kitsuryuu advised him as Kurama turned to leave.  
  
"Wait, I forgot to give you your presents,"  
Kurama said, feeling somewhat guilty that he  
hadn't thought about them earlier.  
  
Kurama reached into his suit pocket and  
pulled out his mother's scarf wrapped gift.   
Kitsuryuu held the box itself for a moment and  
just ran her fingers over the silky material  
before she pulled on the ribbon that held it in  
place. The edges of the scarf folded away to  
reveal an exquisitely carved box. Kitsuryuu  
unfolded the little gold card attached to the  
ribbon and read it aloud.  
  
"To my dearest little girl. This is for when  
you can hear again. Love, Your Grandmother."  
  
Kitsuryuu face had a puzzled frown as she  
opened the top of the box. Kurama heard the  
whining of gears moments before the melody of the  
music box started. As the small, simple notes  
played out a song that Shiori had sung to Kurama  
since his was a newborn, understanding dawned in  
Kitsuryuu's eyes. For a moment Kurama thought his  
daughter was going to cry, but she smiled through  
the mist of tears in her eyes. Slowly Kitsuryuu  
closed the box and whispered 'Someday'.   
  
"Do you remember your parents, Kurama-san? I  
don't mean Grandmother... I mean your youko  
parents," Kitsuryuu asked as she put the music box  
into a pocket hidden in the folds of her dress.  
  
Kurama's skin broke out in a cold sweat and a  
queasy, rolling feeling settled in the pit of his  
stomach making him light headed. He swallowed  
several times around the rock in his throat before  
he answered.  
  
"I remember my mother some," Kurama told her  
not elaborating on the kind of bitch his mother  
had been.  
  
"I know that youkai don't usually raise their  
children, and I know that I ought to be thankful  
that Koenma wants to adopt me, but sometimes...  
sometimes I want to believe that my mother and  
father are out there searching for me. Do you  
wonder sometimes what it would have been like to  
have been raised by your real parents?"  
  
"No... not really. I never thought about my  
parents until Shiori, and after I met her I never  
wanted anybody else," Kurama said, speaking the  
truth for the first time all evening.  
  
Kurama shifted under his daughter's gaze  
wishing he was anywhere but here, knowing that the  
truth of Kitsuryuu's birth was written in black  
across his forehead. The need to flee Kitsuryuu's  
innocent scrutiny was strong but Kurama held his  
ground. After several moments of silence  
Kitsuryuu smiled and laughed under her breath.  
  
"Maybe I'll feel the same way about Koenma  
someday, and maybe I'll never think about my birth  
parents again. You better get going before  
Yomi-san sees you, and tell Hiei-san that I'm  
sorry that he couldn't come, but I understand how  
he doesn't like crowds...", Kitsuryuu leaned into  
Kurama so that her face was only inches from his  
ear," ...crowds give me the creeps too."  
  
Kurama mumbled a good-bye, an apology, and a  
thank in what he hoped was the right order and  
quickly made his way to the door. The tears  
started flowing before he could even get to the  
Great Hall's massive entryway. Kurama skillfully  
avoided his friends and found a corner in the dark  
and let himself slide down the wall. The crystal  
box in his jacket dug into the soft flesh of his  
side. Kurama pulled out Kitsuyruu's present and  
opened the silver hinged top.  
  
He pulled out the small flower and stroked  
the silken petal that so reminded him of  
Kitsuryuu's hair. Soon Kurama's vision was so  
blurred that he couldn't even see the magical  
morning glory in his palm. As he sat there  
utterly alone in the dark, Kurama vowed that even  
if Kitsuryuu learned to forget about her birth  
parents that he would never forget her.  
  
============  
  
end chapter 21 


	25. twenty-twoA

Begin Part a  
  
The Forgotten Child  
Chapter 22  
by Kat Mayes  
  
  
Hiei sat in the darkest corner of the bar  
gulping down his alcoholic beverage that he  
couldn't even remember the name of. He had been  
there since sunrise that morning, quietly drinking  
and trying to forget what day it was. Hiei lifted  
his tankard and downed the last swallow in the  
bottom, it was just as warm and slimy as the  
first. The bent and dented metal mug made a deep  
hollow thud as Hiei slammed it on the wooden  
table. That was his signal to the unlucky girl  
that had to serve him that he was ready for  
another drink.  
  
Beyond the shadows that covered the small,  
heavily repaired table that Hiei sat behind, the  
young barmaid sprang into action. She quickly  
replaced a tray with four tankers of gut rot on  
the bar top and filled a new mug with the only  
slightly better brew that Hiei was drinking. He  
watched her weave between the customers with  
practiced ease to avoid claws, hands and  
tentacles.   
  
All day long Hiei had watched this girl  
trying to decide how old she was. She was a  
youko, which made it almost impossible to tell,  
with dark reddish brown hair, ears and tail. Her  
face was young and fresh, with a smile for all the  
customers, which made him want to believe she was  
a girl in her early decades, maybe 40 or 50 years.   
But, the more he watched her and the more he saw  
how she guarded herself from the customers like an  
old pro, the less he thought of her as a young  
girl. The first time that she had the courage to  
look Hiei in the eyes he had seen the defeat and  
soul deep weariness that most centuries old youkai  
had.  
  
Hiei's eyes narrowed a fraction when he saw  
one of the common low class youkai in the bar  
shove himself back in his chair to block the  
barmaid's path. She swiftly turned a 180 and  
tried to head back but another youkai from the  
same table had already blocked her escape.   
  
Hiei had barely noticed the group of four at  
the table that was giving the barmaid a hard time  
before this. He had realized recently that the  
stronger and the more powerful he became, the less  
he paid attention to the weaker youkai around him.   
Maybe it was a flaw in all youkai that they  
ignored less powerful members of their kind.   
Maybe that was the reason Yuusuke was always able  
to defeat stronger opponents, because they  
underestimated him. Whatever the reason that Hiei  
didn't notice them before, they diffidently had  
his attention now.  
  
As the scene in front of Hiei started to play  
itself out, it was clear that the four youkai had  
more on their minds than just simple mischief.   
The girl effectively avoid most of the sweeping  
touches, but a few were able to get through and  
Hiei could see the rising panic in her eyes.   
Finally desperate to get away the maid threw the  
contents of the tankard she was holding into the  
face of the youkai that blocked her and used the  
empty metal mug to knock away the arm that held  
her by the waist.  
  
The girl efforts to get away only enticed the  
rowdy youkai more, and soon she was surrounded  
from all four sides. She briefly looked around  
the room to see if anyone would help. Of course  
the entire scene had been ignore by most of the  
other customers, because it was one they had seen  
a thousand times before.  
  
"Wait a minute boys. I can't let you rough  
up little Yana like that," the tall, barrel  
chested bar keep barked over the low noise in the  
bar.  
  
The girl almost seemed to melt with relief,  
but the youkai that head her by the arm didn't let  
her go. With a hard tug on the barmaid's arm, the  
youkai bully made the girl fall against his chest.   
She tried to pull away, but he caught her chin in  
his free hand and started to examine her like she  
was a horse to be bought.  
  
"How much do you want for her," the youkai  
asked back, still holding the girl roughly.  
  
"She's a special little one. She's not even  
ten and eight yet. Raised her from a pup, I did.   
She ain't never been touched," the bar keep  
responded as he started to push the dirt around on  
the bar top with his greasy rag.  
  
The youkai looked harder into the girl's eyes  
and released the hold he had on her chin so that  
he could thrust his hand up under her short shirt.  
The young barmaid gave a startled yelp and then  
she started to silently cry as he abused her.  
  
"I'll give you a hundred gold for her."  
  
"Done!" the bar keep shouted and then turned  
his back on the whole scene.  
  
The girl looked at the back of the only  
person she had ever trusted to take care of her  
with complete shock. She didn't even flinch or  
shy away when the youkai that held her put his  
slimy mouth on her neck. Suddenly the youkai  
pulled away from her. His hand fell from inside  
her shirt, not because he had wanted to, but  
because it had been severed from the rest of his  
arm.  
  
Hiei's sword had sightlessly sliced the  
offending youkai's forearm from his body. With a  
slight shove Hiei sent the youkai flying away from  
him and the girl behind him. The other three  
companions raised their weapons to attack, but the  
last thing they saw was the black lighting in  
Hiei's red eyes, before they laid dead at his  
feet.  
  
Without looking at anyone else, Hiei turned  
to the girl that was still in a state of shock  
from the bar keep's cruel treatment. She didn't  
respond to a simple verbal command so Hiei slapped  
her lightly across the face to get her attention.   
Once awakened from her paralysis, the girl looked  
like she was going to scream, seeing the severed  
and twitching bodies around her. Hiei didn't give  
her that chance. He quickly removed his cloak and  
tossed it into her arms.  
  
"Here, take this to Mukuro's palace and tell  
her Hiei sent you. She should be at the Black  
Lake a few miles from here."  
  
When the girl seemed to freeze stock still at  
the mention of his and Mukuro's name, Hiei glared  
at her.  
  
"Go NOW!" he yelled to get her moving.  
  
It did the trick. The barmaid clutched the  
cloak to her chest like a life line and bolted for  
the door. Just before she exited the bar however  
she stopped and turned to face him. She looked  
Hiei square in the eye and grinned. That one  
simple, little smile chased away the centuries old  
sorrow and made her look every inch the 17 year  
old that she was. Hiei glared at her one more  
time and she ran out the door.  
  
Hiei scanned the room and every patron in  
there had some place other to look than at him.   
No one looked an S-class youkai in the eye unless  
they wanted to die. Hiei slowly approached the  
bleeding youkai on the floor with the severed hand  
as he tried to crawl away. With a turn of his  
sword Hiei cut the leather cord that bound the  
youkai's money pouch to his hip and using the dull  
side of his katana flipped the pouch over to the  
bar keep.  
  
"For the drinks," Hiei answered the unspoken  
question with a monotone glare.  
  
The bar keep didn't question and continued to  
wipe his bar down. Hiei focused solely on the  
youkai in front of him that was still scooting  
away while trying to stop the flow of blood from  
his amputated limb. With a fleck of his wrist  
and with no more thought than Hiei had given the  
horse he had once had, the youkai was gelded.  
  
Hiei left the bar without a backwards glance  
nor a single regretful thought. He easily flitted  
through the trees towards Mukuro's stronghold and  
gave a brief notice to the youko girl he passed  
below. The ex-barmaid never knew that he had  
passed by as she ran with Hiei's cloak clutched to  
her chest.  
  
For a brief moment Hiei tried to give a  
reason to what he had just done. It just wasn't  
like him to interfere with other people's  
business, he usually didn't give a damn, but why  
this time? Why did he step in to defend that  
girl? He had seen worse, had done worse. Why  
this time did he care? Because that little  
barmaid could have easily been Kitsuryuu, his  
guilt answered. Hiei tried to banish the thought  
and wished for the days that he wasn't touched by  
guilt's paralyzing hand.   
  
Hiei became angry at the turn of his thoughts  
and ran faster to try and clear them. He was  
little more than a breeze and a blur in the forest  
canopy trying to outrun his thoughts and feelings.   
It disturbed him more than he would like to admit  
that the barmaid reminded him of Kitsuryuu.   
Physically the two girls had nothing in common,  
but they were very much alike in other ways. Both  
abandoned by the people that should have cared for  
them for the rest of their lives. If Kitsuryuu  
had have been born in the Makai she could have  
easily been that foundling youko, but instead she  
was born in the Ninginkai and tortured by humans.   
Not the perfect life but Hiei tried to reason with  
himself that she was happy and well taken care of  
now. The thought should have put him at ease, but  
it just left an empty hole.   
  
Hiei came to Mukuro's mobile city, that  
resembled a cross between a beetle and a mountain  
and felt no peace returning to this one time home.   
He was about to enter when he felt the tiny  
heartbeat that had taken up residence inside his  
mind since Kyuukai's birth, throb with distress.   
Again guilt tore into the tender flesh of his  
softened heart and all his thoughts were consumed  
with his son. With only a brief word to the  
guards that the girl that was coming was to be led  
to chambers of her own and given food and drink,  
Hiei left the Makai.  
  
The path to Shiori's home was one that Hiei  
knew well. Even the tree limbs that he used were  
worn smooth by his frequent visits. Hiei had  
first used this path when he had been defeated by  
a not-quite-human boy all those years ago. Even  
now he would deny that it was his curiosity that  
had brought him back over and over again to watch  
Kurama while he slept. Kurama had fascinated him  
like no other person, and at first it had made him  
furious. He had hoped that once he got to know  
this youko in a human body that he would find him  
as idiotic and lacking as all the others, but that  
had not been the case.   
  
The more Hiei had found out about Kurama the  
more he had been hooked. Even in the days when he  
hadn't cared for anything other than his own  
survival, Hiei had given that red-head at least a  
passing thought when he had done something that  
had endangered his life. After the raid on the  
Reikai, and Hiei and Kurama's 'punishment' of  
working as detectives together, his visits became  
even more numberous. He had tried using the  
excuse that they were partners to fool himself  
into believeing that he didn't care for the fox.   
Then he was there almost every night and the truth  
was too hard for even *him* to ignore.  
  
If asked an infinite number of times why he  
loved Kurama, Hiei would never have an answer. In  
the early days of Hiei's nativity Kurama had once  
shown him a tree totally encased in what he had  
called Tangle vines. Hiei had grudgingly listen  
to Kurama ramble on about how the vines wanted and  
needed the tree so badly that they wrapped  
themselves so tightly to the tree's trunk that  
they can never be removed without both the tree  
and the vines dying. If Hiei had of been listening  
closer maybe he would have heard Kurama's veiled  
meaning, but he hadn't.   
  
Now Hiei realized how true Kurama's words had  
been. That damn fox just had a way of wrapping  
himself around your soul like Tangle vines around  
a tree. Without him even noticing, Kurama had  
wrapped himself up in every thought, every moment  
and every part of Hiei's life. Somehow Hiei had  
ignored or just never paid attention to how much  
Kurama meant to him, and because of his deafness  
Kitsuryuu had to pay the price. If he had of just  
given in to the wonderfully, frightening feelings  
Kurama invoked in him, maybe Kitsuryuu would have  
been born in a warm home with love, instead of a  
cold cave, abandoned.  
  
For a moment Hiei stopped and reflected on  
the girl he had been so desperately trying to  
forget in the bottom of a bent metal mug.   
Kitsuryuu was so like Kurama, her charm and her  
wit were his, her beauty and her alluring nature  
were most definitely Kurama's. At first it had  
been easy to believe that Kitsuryuu's only true  
father was Kurama. Hiei had almost made himself  
believe that he had only been the instrument in  
making Kurama's children, not a true partner in  
it. He needed to believe that convenient lie to  
distance himself from Kitsuryuu and Kyuukai. He  
needed to believe that his children were not apart  
of him, that they could be better than he was.  
  
But the more he watched Kitsuryuu the more he  
found himself in her. Her coolness in battle no  
matter how badly she was out numbered or out  
classed. Her ease of learning new techniques and  
weapons the first time they were in her grasp was  
reflexive of his own. Of all the little things  
about Kitsuryuu that reminded Hiei of himself it  
was her temper that really hit the truth home for  
him. Kitsuryuu's temper could be triggered by a  
spider's web, and brake apart just as easily. His  
temper was still that easy to rouse, but now he  
knew how to bury it under a mask of  
indifference... most of the time.   
  
He had spent many days watching Kitsuryuu.   
Drinking in her every movement, her every sound.   
The way she crossed her arms over her chest and  
pretended to ignore her friends around her when  
they became too emotional. The way she would  
glare at them and grunt when she had been shown to  
be incorrect about some silly little thing. The  
way she delighted in confounding and tormenting  
the others with her quick silver moods and her  
lighting flash smiles.  
  
Kitsuryuu was so much a part of him, a part  
of them, him and Kurama, that it hurt to watch  
her, but he couldn't turn away from her. Maybe  
there had been a time in Hiei's life when he could  
have easily walked away from his daughter, but not  
now. Not now when he had a heart. He had thought  
his heart had died many years ago, before he meet  
Kurama. Now it was excruciatingly obvious that he  
had one, and it was bleeding.  
  
No... Hiei would never be able to forget  
about his daughter, but he would hide his  
feelings. He would bury them so deep that maybe  
one day he could even be happy that she was safe  
and protected with her new family. Maybe one day  
he would attend her wedding and be joyful watching  
her 'father' dance his dance with her. Maybe one  
day he'd even be able to touch her hand and tell  
her how proud he was of her. And maybe one day  
the pain would stop and the wounds would close,  
but somehow that day seemed very far away.  
  
A movement in the kitchen window caught  
Hiei's attention and he found himself being  
watched. Shiori held the white lace curtain out  
of her way with her free hand as she peered out at  
him. Her other arm was occupied with holding her  
infant grandson to her shoulder. Shiori smiled at  
Hiei and shifted Kyuukai in her arm so that his  
face was towards the window. The tiny boy had his  
face pressed tightly against the older woman's  
neck, but a few unknown words from Shiori got him  
to look up.  
  
Kyuukai raised his little head and fixed his  
dark green eyes on his father. His wide innocent  
eyes were wet with resent tears, marking the  
distress Hiei had felt from the boy earlier.   
Kyuukai's face lit up with joy upon seeing his  
father and turned quickly in his grandmother's  
grasp to place his tiny hands on the window pane.  
  
Even through the blackness of his mood Hiei  
grinned for his son. Kyuukai smiled wildly back  
and started to pound on the glass with his palms.   
Hiei could see the little boy talking rabidly in a  
language only Kyuukai and his grandmother seemed   
to understand. Shiori gently pulled her grandson  
from the window and Hiei took that as his cue to  
enter the house.  
  
"Hiei, where have you been? Your son has  
been calling for you for hours and with Shuuichi  
going into work early Kyuukai has been unusually  
cranky. Is something wrong?" Shiori asked,  
sounding worried.  
  
Hiei went to remove his cloak to stall for  
time and then realized he didn't have it on. It  
unnerved Hiei a little, having Kurama's mother  
fuss over him like she did her son. Shiori knew  
what he was, and what he could do, but she still  
insisted that he dress warmly and be careful.   
Kurama had tried to explain that his mother  
worried over them to show that she cared, but Hiei  
failed to see how insinuating that someone was too  
dumb to take care of themselves showed that they  
loved you. Besides, he wasn't going to be the one  
to tell Shiori to stop.  
  
"Nothing is wrong. I was just... 'out of  
town'," Hiei explained as simply at possible,  
trying to get that worried mother look out of  
Shiori's eyes. It didn't work.  
  
Kyuukai started to kick and squirm in  
Shiori's arms and the older human woman had to  
allow her grandson to slip to the floor. Once  
Kyuukai's feet were on the ground he tried to pull  
his tiny hands from Shiori's grasp so that he  
could go to his father. After making sure Kyuukai  
was balanced, Shiori let go of the little boy's  
hands and let him take three very wobbly, unsure  
steps to Hiei.  
  
Shiori had told Hiei that human babies could  
barely crawl at three months old let alone walk.   
Of course Kyuukai was mostly youkai, but it was  
still amazing how quickly he was developing. He  
even spoke a little. His favorite words were,  
Paa, for Kurama, Daa, for Hiei, Gaa, for Shiori  
and Ki for his favorite 'aunt' Kitsuryuu.  
  
Once Kyuukai connected with Hiei's leg the  
little boy let out a squeal of unbridled joy as he  
rubbed his face into his father's pants leg. When  
Hiei felt Kyuukai start to pull on the material  
around his leg he quickly picked his son up. Hiei  
knew from experience that Kyuukai was rather  
strong for a baby and could actually pull your  
pants off in the attempt of climbing up into your  
arms.  
  
"Hiei can I ask you a... personal question?"  
Shiori asked as she tried unsuccessfully to seem  
casual.  
  
"You can ask," Hiei answered, letting none of  
his anxiousness show on his face. Shiori never  
asked casual questions.  
  
Shiori took a deep breath and looked Hiei  
straight in the eye, "Are you going to leave my  
son once Kyuukai is old enough to be away from  
you?"   
  
Hiei didn't answer, he couldn't, because he  
didn't know the answer himself. It would be a lie  
to say that he hadn't thought about it. That old  
demon in his head was telling him that everyone  
would be better off if he just disappeared. If he  
wasn't around then Kurama would be free to find  
someone more worthy of his love. If he wasn't  
around then Kyuukai would never have to see what a  
bastard his father was. If he wasn't around maybe  
Kurama could go to Kitsuryuu and truly be her  
father. Hiei had even thought about telling  
Kurama to lie and say that he hadn't known that he  
was Kitsuryuu's father because her birth father  
hadn't told him.  
  
Kyuukai let out a very timely 'Daa' and  
planted a very sloppy kiss on his father's mouth  
to which Hiei started to sputter. Kyuukai laughed  
at Hiei's reaction and tried give another kiss  
that missed when his father turned his face away.   
The little boy gave another squeal of delight and  
buried his face his father's neck and rubbed his  
forehead in the space between the fire demon's  
shoulder and neck.  
  
Kissing was apparently something new that  
Kyuukai had learned while Hiei had been away, and  
it had surprised him greatly. Hiei used the back  
of his hand to wipe his mouth and cheek, and  
glared at Shiori when she couldn't hide her  
laughter any longer. Shiori only grinned back at  
Hiei's deadly look and the fire demon gave up. He  
gave Kyuukai the hug he knew his son wanted and  
then winced when his son started yelling 'Daa'  
over and over again in an octave that made Hiei's  
ears ring.  
  
Hiei pulled Kyuukai from around his neck and  
gave his son a stern look. The little boy tried  
to mimic his father as best as he could, but his  
sweet little face and big green eyes didn't lend  
themselves well to the look. Kyuukai looked more  
like Kurama when his was deep in thought instead  
of an irritated fire demon. Hiei's ridged resolve  
melted in those liquid emerald eyes. In that  
moment Hiei knew. How could he possibly leave  
Kurama and Kyuukai and not destroy his own soul in  
the process?   
  
"I have to go and take care of something,"  
Hiei stated simply as he handed Kyuukai back to  
Shiori.  
  
It was true, he did have something to take  
care of. He needed to resolve his feelings for  
Kitsuryuu. He needed to find a way to convince  
himself that he had done the right thing. It was  
the only way he was ever going to be able to live  
with himself, the only way he could be with Kurama  
and Kyuukai without the ever constant, eating  
guilt.   
  
Kyuukai started to fuss a little and refused  
the comfort his grandmother offered and instead  
reached back for his father. Hiei took several  
steps back out of Kyuukai's reach and turned to  
leave.  
  
"You never answered my question, Hiei,"  
Shiori reminded her son's lover as she tried to  
quiet the sobbing little boy in her arms.  
  
"I never said I would," the fire demon  
responded from the doorway, "But I'll be back  
later, after I settle things."  
  
Hiei didn't look back as he left, but he  
didn't need to see Kyuukai's face to feel his  
pain. Hiei's son was only three months old, but  
he knew that he was being abandoned, that his  
father was leaving him. Every time Hiei came to  
see his son it got harder and harder to leave, but  
this time was going to be the last. Hiei had  
finally made his decision. He knew it was selfish  
of him, and his guilt be damned but he couldn't  
give up Kurama and Kyuukai. He had made Yukina's  
life hell because he wouldn't tell her the truth,  
he had destroyed Kitsuryuu's childhood because he  
couldn't handle the truth of his own feelings.   
With his mind firmly set on what he had to do,  
Hiei changed direction towards the Reikai.   
  
======  
End Part a 


	26. twenty-twoB

Begin Part b  
========  
  
Kitsuryuu's coronation was still several  
hours away, but the Reikai was already in full  
costume. The last of the banners were being hung  
and the plant mages were casting their spells so  
that the ivy and flowering vines that they had  
hung would look their best when the festivities  
were underway. Hiei easily slinked by the workers  
and the guards and made his way to Kitsuryuu's  
room.  
  
He knew exactly were his daughter's room was,  
having made many nocturnal visits to watch as  
Kitsuryuu sleep, just as he had done with Kurama.   
He slipped inside that familiar doorway and was  
frozen still in shock. Never had Hiei seen so  
many dresses in his entire life! Kitsuryuu larger  
than necessary room was packed to the gills with  
every shade, fabric and cut of dress anyone could  
imagine. Some were neatly hung on racks that had  
been wheeled into the room, but most of them were  
strewn across the room, hanging from windowsills,  
the many doorways and the four posters of  
Kitsuryuu ridiculously huge bed.   
  
Because of his shock Hiei almost didn't hide  
fast enough when the door swung open. With a  
single leap Hiei was up in his normal hiding place  
in the wooden rafters in the corner of Kitsuryuu's  
room. In a whirl of color and pageantry an  
elderly lady that Hiei recognized as Kitsuryuu's  
teacher entered the room with a flare of skirts  
and a click of her heels. Hiei had never liked  
this woman much, but she was teaching Kitsuryuu  
how to read and write and all the little things  
she had missed out on because of her unusual  
childhood so Hiei didn't say anything. Lady  
Jingo, as she was called, quickly scanned the room  
and then turned on the door as if she would  
attack.  
  
"Koenma... *where* is your daughter?!" she  
demanded.  
  
It still shot a sliver of pain in Hiei's  
heart to hear Koenma being called Kitsuryuu's  
father, but there was no help for it. He would  
just have to thicken his skin against it. Koenma  
slowly entered looking very haggard and drained.   
At his heels where the ever present George and a  
tiny girl dressed in a pink kimono. Koenma also  
looked about the room in search of Kitsuryuu and  
just shrugged his shoulders in defeat as the woman  
paced like a hungry tiger.  
  
"I really don't know, Jingo."  
  
For the first time Hiei noticed that the  
bulldog of a woman held a fan in her hand and she  
brandished it like a short sword. She turned on  
Koenma and made the godling take several steps  
back as she approached him.  
  
"It is two hours until *your* daughter's  
coronation and you have no idea *where* she is!   
This is unacceptable! I demand that she be  
brought here immediately! She hasn't even chosen  
a dress yet!"  
  
Koenma stammered and stuttered and looked to  
Gorge and then to the other Reikai servant for  
help, both had taken a keen interest in the potted  
plant by the door. Just as Koenma was about to  
say something intelligent a tornado of black and  
red rushed by him, causing the young god to turn  
many times in his place.  
  
Hiei watched intently as Kitsuryuu whirled to  
a stop and then began searching the room. Dresses  
of fine silk and satin sailed across the room in  
every direction. Hiei could hear his daughter  
growling under her breath and the longer she  
searched and didn't find what she was looking for  
the angrier she became. Soon Kitsuryuu was  
followed by Botan, Fuyu, Mechiko and Yukina, even  
Puu made his presence known by sticking his long,  
swan-like neck in through the open window.   
Kitsuryuu continued her rampage around the room  
until she came to her closet and disappeared  
inside. Soon various clothes, shoes and  
unidentified flying objects came from the dark  
recesses of the miniature room.   
  
Botan suddenly broke away from the group of  
stunned spectators and approached the seemingly  
rabid young lady. From inside her elegantly  
embroidered kimono sleeve Botan pulled out a solid  
ring of red gold with a gleaming red gem hanging  
from the slight point at the bottom edge. With  
great speed and bravery, Botan entered the tiny  
room with the enraged youkai. Almost immediately  
new sounds, equally as unpleasant as the growling  
had been, could be heard from the closet.  
  
"That stupid, pig-headed, arrogant, vain,  
crass, devious, childish, domineering, impossible,  
cocky, overbearing, perverse, self-righteous,  
snobbish JERK!"   
  
Botan was physically propelled out of the  
closet with the very last word. She beat a hasty  
retreat to the others that were staring at the  
dark opening with dumb confusion. Then, just as  
the room was deathly quiet, the beast emerged out  
of her cave.   
  
Kitsuryuu was in the worse shape Hiei had  
seen her since her accident three months ago. Her  
hair was in a wild mess and was barely being held  
in check by a braid at the base of her neck. Her  
right eye was swollen dark blue with black around  
the edges and there was a long slash from above  
her right eye, over her nose and across her left  
cheek that oozed blood. Her clothes were filthy  
and blood stained, what was left of them anyway,  
and her hands were raw and burnt.  
  
"Kitsuryuu, calm down!" Mechiko pleaded with  
her friend.  
  
"Calm down?!" Kitsuryuu signed and spoke  
simultaneously, "Calm down! Look what that...  
that...ARRRHH!"  
  
Kitsuryuu gave up trying to voice her temper  
and began to search the room again, "As soon as I  
find my sword I'll show him 'a hole in his  
defenses', right in the middle of his thick, empty  
skull!"  
  
Everyone seemed at a lost at what to do, even  
Hiei who remembered himself have similar tantrums,  
was clueless as to how to stop the rampaging young  
lady. Everyone that was except Lady Bulldog.   
With a twist of her wrist the elderly lady opened  
the fan with a sharp snap and the foot long  
ornament took on a different look. The material  
between each of the many spokes of the fan was  
completely transparent like rice paper, but it  
shimmered like gold. With another movement of her  
wrist Lady Jingo swept the air in the room towards  
Kitsuryuu with alarming results.  
  
A powerful wind came with that tiny movement  
of the fan, strong enough to blow Kitsuryuu off  
her feet and Hiei nearly off his perch in the  
rafters above. The stunned and angry young lady  
flew several meters across the room and would have  
hit the wall rather hard if Puu had not of caught  
the back of her shirt in his beak and stopped her.  
  
"Lady Jingo! I... I didn't know that you  
were there!" Kitsuryuu stammered, all her anger  
evaporated instantly.  
  
"It is already quite obvious to me that you  
did not know I was here. Otherwise you would not  
have conducted yourself in such a rude and  
unlady-like fashion," Lady Jingo said and then  
snapped her fan shut.   
  
Hiei could feel his own anger rising at  
hearing his daughter spoken to in such a manner by  
the female barracuda, but kept his mouth shut.   
Kitsuryuu looked like she was going to defend  
herself, but Lady Jingo held up her fan to stop  
her.  
  
"Do not try and defend your actions to me,  
Lady Kitsuryuu. I already can see what happened."  
  
Lady Jingo made a slow circle around  
Kitsuryuu examining her clothes and pushing at the  
exposed skin with the tip of her fan as if she  
were too clean to touch Kitsuryuu herself. She  
ended her circle in front of the young woman.  
  
"After finishing creating those ice lanterns  
in the main hall, which I might add are some of  
your best work, you went to the training grounds  
*against* my suggestion. Once you were there,  
Shura showed you how foolish it was to go looking  
for a fight when your best defense, your ki  
powers, were completely drained and your hand to  
hand fighting skills are at the novice level at  
best," Lady Jingo walked up to Kitsuryuu and  
grasped her chin firmly in her withered old hand,  
"And it seems that he beat you quite soundly."  
  
Hiei could see his daughter fairly boil with  
anger at having been reminded of how completely  
she was trounced by Shura. Hiei had seen first  
hand how vicious the Captain of the Guard was on  
Kitsuryuu. Shura seemed to single Kitsuryuu out  
among the other cadets and never held back any of  
his S-class power when sparing with the young  
woman. Several times Hiei wondered if he should  
speak to Koenma about how rough Shura was on  
Kitsuryuu, but it didn't seem like his place  
anymore now that Kitsuryuu was no longer legally  
his daughter.  
  
"In any case you have only two hours to  
prepare for the coronation, Lady Kitsuryuu and I  
suggest that you start with a bath while a healer  
is sent for. I will not have one of my students  
being seen at an event like this with a black eye  
and a open wound across her face. Is that  
understood?" Lady Jingo questioned as she stepped  
away.  
  
"Yes, Lady Jingo," Kitsuryuu signed and  
spoke.  
  
"Kitsuryuu, please remember that you can  
speak now. There is no need to both sign and  
speak. You will confuse people."  
  
Kitsuryuu looked at her hands as if she had  
seen them for the first time and quickly hid them  
behind her back. Hiei could see a blush work its  
way up Kitsuryuu's neck under the dirt and grime  
as she dropped her head to study her bare, dirty  
feet.  
  
Lady Jingo once again reached out to grasp  
Kitsuryuu's chin and made the young lady look at  
her. When the elderly lady smiled at Kitsuryuu,  
Hiei was amazed at how much it improved her  
bulldog appearance.  
  
"That is enough with the long face young  
lady!" the old crone said cheerfully, with a  
bright twinkle in her black eyes, "This is the  
biggest night of your life and we are going to  
show everyone how wonderful a woman you are,  
including that snobbish Shura!"  
  
Kitsuryuu's blush got even worse and she  
responded with a small grin that got increasingly  
bigger as she thought about what Lady Jingo said.   
With a quick 'Yes Madame', Kitsuryuu ran over to  
Mechiko and Fuyu and grabbed them both by the  
hand. With an conspiring wink to each of her  
companions, Kitsuryuu dragged the girls into a  
room off to the side where her private bath was  
located.  
  
"And Lady Mechiko... make sure Kitsuryuu  
bathes in *all* three forms," Lady Jingo called  
out as the girls disappeared behind the door.  
  
A very quite 'Oh, shit' could be heard behind  
the closed door. Within seconds giggles and  
laughter echoed in the large tiled room along with  
splashing water and high pitched squeals of  
protest. Lady Jingo just shook her head and  
smiled adoringly.  
  
"I fear that Lady Mechiko could do with some  
etiquette training also," Lady Jingo sighed.  
  
"Be careful what you say. Keiko might just  
take you up on that offer," Yukina teased.  
  
"It will not be easy for them to be gracious  
young ladies having to do and be what they are,"  
Lady Jingo said with what Hiei thought was regret  
in her voice, but it was short lived as she turned  
on Koenma with her folded fan.  
  
"What are you still doing here!?" she  
demanded of the startled man, "You have even less  
time to prepare, since you will have to greet the  
guests as they arrive. Now get *moving*!"  
  
Koenma didn't bother to respond and made a  
hasty retreat with George in tow. Lady Jingo  
turned to the remaining Reikai servant and  
instructed her to fetch the healer. She reminded  
Botan that she also had to get dressed *and* pick  
up a special guest and set her on her way. Soon  
Lady Jingo and Yukina were alone in the room, with  
the exception of Hiei whom they didn't know was  
there. With an offer to help from Yukina the two  
women began straitening the room that Kitsuryuu   
had completely trashed.  
  
In the quiet of the next few minutes Hiei had  
a chance to reflect on what he had just witnessed.   
It was alarmingly clear that Kitsuryuu had made  
herself a life here in Reikai. Although not  
completely pleased with her commanding officer,  
Kitsuryuu seemed happy and very well taken care  
of, better than he or Kurama could have ever  
provided for her. In a strange way it made him  
sad to see her so content without him in her life,  
and he had a feeling that sadness would never  
completely go away.  
  
A knock on the door brought Hiei's attention  
back to the room. The door open to reveal a  
female healer who was quickly shown to the  
bathroom. When the bathroom door was opened, a  
tiny wave of water rushed out to soak the carpet  
in the bedroom and the girls inside gave a scream  
of surprise and one fox bark before the laughter  
started again. All eyes were on the bathroom door  
listening to strange unnatural noises within when  
someone at the open bedroom door cleared his  
throat.  
  
Shura stood in the doorway in his stately and  
slightly rumbled Captain of the Guard uniform with  
two long wide boxes under his arm. If it wasn't  
for the fact that his eyes were open and he only  
had one set of ears and horns, Shura could have  
been easily mistaken for his father. Hiei had not  
been completely surprise when Kurama had first  
told him that Shura had left his father's care,  
since Yomi still refused to replace Kurama as his  
heir. It had been a surprise, however, when it  
was found out that he had entered the Academy and  
then consequently a few years later became Captain  
of the Guard.  
  
The youkai entered the room without asking  
permission and gave a charming smile to the ladies  
within, which Hiei was please to note was slightly  
marred by the deep slash across his right cheek.   
Lady Jingo gave a small nod of her head in  
greeting and Yukina presented him with a weary bow  
but never dropped her eyes.  
  
"What brings you here to the den, Sir Shura?   
Surly feeling the fox's teeth once today was  
enough for you," Lady Jingo said, holding back  
none of her displeasure, which changed Hiei's  
perception of the lady quite a bit.  
  
Shura reached up to his cheek and gave a smug  
smile that rubbed Hiei non-existent fur the wrong  
way.  
  
"I knew that if I rode her hard enough that  
evidentially she would drop her stupid little  
insecurity about her fox form and come back with  
something good enough to train," Shura's smile  
changed to something almost predatory, "Now that I  
have proof that she has what it takes I'm going to  
push her even harder until she lives up to her  
potential or.. doesn't."  
  
"That maybe so, Sir Shura, but today was not  
the day to be pushing such matters," Lady Jingo  
reprimanded.  
  
"Perhaps you are right, but for a moment she  
reminded me of someone. It was something in her  
face... her... look, if your will. I would very  
much like to see that look again to confirm my  
suspicions."  
  
Hiei's hands gripped the beam he was on until  
the wood began to splinter. His fingers itched to  
wrap around Shura's slender neck and squeeze until  
his pinkish eyes popped out of his head. He  
promised all the gods that he never paid attention  
to that if Shura ever went out of his way to hurt  
his daughter again it would be the very last thing  
he would do in this plane of existence.  
  
"If that is all Sir, you may leave."  
  
"There is one more thing," Shura handed the  
two boxes over to Lady Jingo and left the room.   
His whistling could be heard as he walked down the  
hall.  
  
"Do you think he knows?" Yukina asked.  
  
Lady Jingo gave a very unladylike snort and  
flopped the two boxes on the bed, "He knows."  
  
All conversation stopped when Mechiko tumbled  
into the room with another swish of water. The  
young Urameshi was fully clothed and completely  
soaked and was soon joined by an equally clothed  
and soaked Fuyu. Both were trying unsuccessfully  
to stop their laughter as they fell on each other  
for support. The unsettled healer quickly made  
her way from the water drenched room and left  
swiftly. Her sandals could be heard squishing as  
she walked down the hall. The object of the two  
girls gayety was revealed when Kitsuryuu entered  
the room.   
  
Her kitsune form was dripping wet and all her  
fur was plastered to her skin making her look like  
a drowned rat. Hiei found it hard to keep the  
grin off his face. Kitsuryuu growled and then  
barked just before she shook. Water flew  
everywhere and Lady Jingo and Yukina gave girlish  
squeals.  
  
"Lady Kitsuryuu! That is enough! That is  
why we have towels."  
  
"Their... their all wet," Mechiko struggled  
to get out between hic-ups.  
  
"How could they possibly all be wet? Never  
mind, I don't want to know. Fuyu, dear, would you  
please bring us some more towels from your room,"  
Lady Jingo asked as she tried to save some of the  
dresses that had been rained upon.  
  
Once Fuyu left, Mechiko's giggles died down  
and the young girl started to blush under the  
scrutiny of both Lady Jingo and Yukina. Mechiko  
coughed nervously and tried to straighten her wet  
clothes. When it was obvious it was futile, she  
jabbed her hands into her jeans pockets and  
started to examine the dresses in the room. With  
a squishy stomp on the floor Mechiko gained  
Kitsuryuu attention.  
  
"Have you picked your dresses out yet?"  
  
Kitsuryuu gave a snort to show her opinion on  
the subject of dresses and shook her head.   
Mechiko shrugged her shoulders and then started  
looking at the dresses again. When her eyes fell  
on the two boxes on the bed Hiei could practically  
see Yuusuke's daughter's curiosity oozing out of  
her. Mechiko flipped open the two boxes and gave  
a low whistle and turned to her kitsune friend.  
  
"Did you see these, Kitsuryuu? There a  
couple of kick ass duds."  
  
"Lady Mechiko!"   
  
"Sorry, Lady Jingo," Mechiko replied  
sheepishly.  
  
Hiei tried to crane his neck so that he could  
also see what was in the boxes but his vision was  
blocked by three heads and a fox. Kitsuryuu had  
jumped onto the bed to get a better look at the  
boxes and looked to Mechiko with a questioning  
glance.  
  
"I think you should wear them, Kit. Who ever  
picked them out sure had you in mind."   
  
Lady Jingo and Yukina exchanged looks over he  
girls heads when Fuyu came back with the towels,  
"What all the interest?"  
  
"Come look at these and tell Kitsuryuu that  
they would be perfect for her," Mechiko said  
crooking her finger at the other girl.  
  
Fuyu handed the towels to her mother and  
looked down at the dresses Hiei still couldn't  
see. She also gave an approving whistle and  
winked at Kitsuryuu. The fox looked back down at  
the boxes and turned her head to the side  
examining them. With a sigh of defeat she nodded  
her head 'yes' and the decision was made.  
  
"Well, now that is settled, isn't about time  
the two of you got ready also?" Yukina asked the  
girls.  
  
Both girls looked down at themselves and then  
at each other and ran from the room, pushing to  
see who would make it out the door first.  
  
"Now it's time for you young lady," Lady  
Jingo said as she picked up the boxes.   
  
She started walking to yet another door in  
the room when Kitsuryuu changed from a wet  
silver-blue fox to an actual young lady.   
Kitsuryuu's wet hair clung to her back all the way  
down to her hips looking completely black. The  
bruise and the gash that had been on her face were  
now no where to be found and her hands showed no  
signs of ever being burnt. She gave a huff and  
crossed her arms over her naked chest.  
  
"I don't see why I have to dress in another  
room. What's wrong with this one?" she asked.  
  
"It is improper for a lady of your standing  
to dress in her bedroom. The servants could enter  
at any time to clean the room or bring something,  
besides the door doesn't have a lock," Lady Jingo  
informed her with a royal air that made Hiei's eye  
twitch.  
  
Kitsuryuu huffed once again but gave up. She  
walked the remaining distance to the other room  
and followed Yukina inside. Hiei shook his head  
at the strangeness of this place Kitsuryuu now  
called home and waited to see what his daughter  
looked like in the dresses he hadn't been able to  
see.  
  
For what seemed like hours the two women in  
the changing room made a lot of demands on  
Kitsuryuu. 'Don't move. Don't touch that. Hold  
still. Give me that. Hold this. Stop squirming.   
Put your hands here. Stop that. Change forms.   
Bend lower. Breath in deep.' Among the many  
sounds that came from the room, only one of which  
Hiei could recognize as a hair dryer, Kitsuryuu's  
groans of protest, yelps of pain and one or two  
barks made Hiei think that they were torturing the  
poor girl. The waiting became almost unbearable,  
but Hiei endured. This might be the only time he  
ever got to see Kitsuryuu like this since he had  
no plans to attend the coronation. The three  
woman finally reentered the room.   
  
Yukina reentered the bedroom with a beaming  
smile on her face and what looked like tears in  
her eyes. Lady Jingo was next to appear with a  
drape made of spun sliver over her arm and a look  
of pure pride (for herself, or for Kitsuryuu Hiei  
could not tell). When Kitsuryuu didn't emerge  
Hiei began to worry. Had they truly hurt her in  
there? Lady Jingo looked into the room and  
motioned to Kitsuryuu to come out.  
  
Hiei watched his daughter slowly enter the  
room and was amazed. This was only the third time  
he had ever seen his daughter in her youko form.   
The first time he had been delirious, the second  
had been a deadly serious situation and he hadn't  
the time to examine her, this time he could only  
stare in wonder.   
=======  
End Part b 


	27. twenty-twoC

Begin Part c  
========  
  
Kitsuryuu wore a shimmering multi tone  
turquoise dress made of some kind of floating  
gauzy material that Hiei couldn't identify. The  
whole dress seemed to be made up of many scarves  
laid together and over each other with darker  
turquoise ones underneath and lighter ones on top.   
The long flowing scarves of material were gathered  
just under Kitsuryuu's breasts and then flowed  
straight down to the floor giving the elution that  
she was floating just above the carpet. The  
neckline was high enough to just barely show the  
tops of Kitsuryuu's collar bones, but low enough  
that a silver necklace that looked exactly like  
the one Botan had placed on her earlier but with a  
turquoise blue stone instead of a ruby one could  
be seen. The sleeves of the dress were nothing  
more than two scarves of the lightest color blue  
tied once at her shoulder, again at her elbow and  
then a third time at her wrist. When she held her  
arms up and away from her body the scarves parted  
to show the bare skin of her arm.  
  
Kitsuryuu looked very uncomfortable, but Hiei  
could tell that it wasn't the dress that made her  
feel this way. Kitsuryuu kept pulling on her  
hair, sweeping it over the tops of her cropped  
ears, but the perfectly straight, silky locks  
would slide back down and reveal what she was so  
desperately trying to hide.  
  
"Isn't there something we can do with my  
hair?" Kitsuryuu asked sounding desperate and  
alarmed, making Hiei's heart bleed for her.  
  
"I do not think that will be a problem once  
you put on the cloak," Lady Jingo said as she  
shook out the silver wrap on her arm and showed it  
to Kitsuryuu, "This was meant to wear with the  
dress and you can pull the hood over the top of  
your head if you like."  
  
Kitsuryuu looked unconvinced, "Why do I have  
to dress up in this form anyway. It's not like  
I'm going to be like this at the coronation."  
  
"Kitsuryuu, the purpose of this coronation is  
to show you off. All those people are going to  
want to see you in each of your forms and  
therefore you must be prepared. Besides you don't  
have to show them for long. Just a quick look and  
you can change back into something more  
comfortable for you."  
  
"I think I have something that could help,"  
Yukina said timidly.  
  
Kitsuryuu seemed more relieved that there was  
another option and waited impatiently for Yukina  
to help her. Yukina reached into her kimono  
sleeve and pulled out what looked like a string of  
light blue pearls along a thin silver chain, but  
Hiei knew exactly what it was, though he hadn't  
seen it in many years. When Yukina and Hiei had  
finally told each other the truth about each  
other, his sister had tried to give it to him, as  
a gift from his mother.   
  
The ornament in Yukina's hand was an heirloom  
of Hiei's family going back farther than recorded  
history. It was a special head dress that was  
passed down from mother to first born daughter.   
Hiei's mother had wanted him to have it since he  
was technically first born, but he had refused and  
told Yukina to have it instead, after all *he*  
wasn't going to have any children... or so he had  
thought.  
  
Yukina stretched out the headpiece of tear  
gems strung together with delicate silver links  
and indicated to Kitsuryuu to sit on the bed  
facing her. Kitsuryuu complied but looked  
doubtful that this would change anything.  
  
"That is exquisite, Yukina. Wherever did you  
find it?" Lady Jingo asked as Yukina began the  
painstakingly long process of weaving it into  
Kitsuryuu's hair.  
  
"It has been in my family for longer than can  
be remembered. Each stone in it was a tear from  
mother, to daughter, to granddaughter and each  
time a child was born a new stone was placed in it  
buy the one that shed it. My mother's tear was  
the last to be added," she said as she reached for  
her necklace that was no longer there, "Her first  
born is not able to carry it on to the next and I  
cannot accept it myself to give to my first born,  
but I think that my mother would be pleased if you  
would have it, Kitsuryuu."  
  
"Yukina, I can't accept this. It should stay  
with your family. If Hiei-san can not give it to  
his first born then maybe it could go to Kyuukai's  
first born," Kitsuryuu tried to protest as Yukina  
continued to weave it into her hair.  
  
"My mother also told me if I could never find  
my brother that I would know who to give it to,  
and I believe that person is you. So please  
accept this in my mother's memory," Yukina said as  
she finished and stepped away.  
  
The front of the hair ornament was meant to  
be worn across the forehead and that part of it  
resembled the wide mesh of a net. At each place  
where the line of tear gems crossed a small stone  
of crystal clear, ice blue was faceted. The two  
ends of the mesh met together at a point at the  
very side edge of Kitsuryuu's hair line. From  
there one set of tear gems, staggered along the  
thin silver chains, where worked into a braid that  
was woven from the hair on the top of Kitsuryuu's  
head. This was what concealed the young lady's  
shortened ears from view.   
  
There was another set of three strands of  
gems on each side, where the mesh in the front  
came together. One strand of each set fell to the  
edge of Kitsuryuu's jaw, the next fell to her  
shoulders and the last ended at the beginning of  
her dress's neckline.   
  
"There is one more thing," Yukina said and  
reached back into her kimono, "But this you can  
only borrow."  
  
Yukina gave Kitsuryuu a wide bracelet of  
silver. From Hiei's perch he could barely make  
out the snowflakes and flowers etched onto the  
surface of the metal. Kitsuryuu turned the  
bracelet in her hands examining it and a puzzled  
expression appeared on her elegantly decorated  
brow.  
  
"Who is Hana no Kokoro?" she asked.  
  
The name shot a bolt of pure electricity  
through Hiei's body. The fire fox that he had  
encountered when he had been searching for  
Kitsuryuu had mentioned that name. 'Tell Yukina  
that Hana no Kokoro says not to worry so much,  
she's happy now' the fox had said. Hiei had  
almost forgotten about the fox made solely of fire  
energy that had been at Kitsuryuu's side during  
her ordeal in the city. Remembering that brought  
back other memories of the promise he had made,  
the one that he hadn't kept.  
  
/So does this mean that you won't give up on her, no  
matter what?   
That you'll do what ever it takes to keep Kitsuryuu safe?/  
the kitsune had asked  
with a hidden twinkle in his blue eyes.   
  
/Whatever it takes,/ he had responded, but  
had he? Had he tried his best? Hadn't he done  
everything in his power to keep Kitsuryuu safe?   
He'd sacrificed his heart to allow Koenma to take  
her away from him to keep her safe. Wasn't that  
enough? Then he remembered something else the  
fire fox had said.  
  
/Good, I was hoping you would finally stop feeling  
sorry for   
yourself, get up off your ass and be strong enough  
to be Kitsuryuu's father,/ but he wasn't being her  
father. He was being a friend that cared from a  
distance.  
  
/Things have already been set into motion that even My  
Lord is   
powerless to stop. You're going to have to be strong and  
remember your   
oath, Hiei. It might be your only chance to save  
her./  
  
What had he meant by that? Did he have to be  
Kitsuryuu's father in order to save her? Save her  
from what? What was this 'Lord' that the kitsune  
spoke of, and who was that damn fox anyway?! Too  
many questions crowded together in Hiei's mind and  
only Yukina's sad voice brought his attention back  
to the room.  
  
Yukina smiled with distant emotion, "Hana no  
Kokoro was what my father called my mother. This  
was the only thing that she had of him once he  
left."  
  
The once joyful mood was shadowed by Yukina's  
answer and all three ladies seemed to draw within  
their own thoughts for a moment. Yukina's  
admission had an equally stunning effect on Hiei.   
The fire demon sat so still that a statue would  
have been jealous. It was Kitsuryuu that finally  
broke the spell.  
  
"Thank you, for letting me borrow it, Yukina.   
It is lovely," spoke as she rose from the bed.  
  
Kitsuryuu towered over the other two women  
easily with her youko height and had to look down  
to see their faces. The young lady straightened  
her back, set her shoulders and reached for the  
cloak Lady Jingo still held. Kitsuryuu, with an  
undue amount of flamboyance, swept the covering  
over her head and around her shoulder, then  
fastened the clasp in the front.   
  
"Well ladies. Shall we adjourn to the  
receiving room to allow my father a moment of  
reprieve from the questions about his wild  
daughter that no one has ever seen. I fear that  
my dear father will be at a lost as to how to  
avoid their curiosity."  
  
Both Yukina and Lady Jingo stood there  
stunned as Kitsuryuu whirled from the room without  
a backward glance and more grace than a queen at  
her court.   
  
"I think you have created a monster, Lady  
Jingo."  
  
"Indeed I have, and she will be better for  
it," Lady Jingo said as she left to follow her  
student behind Yukina.  
  
Hiei waited until the last of Lady Jingo's  
skirt disappeared around the doorway and jumped  
down from his hiding place. His feet never made a  
sound when they touched the carpet, but the bed  
made a soft sigh when he sat on its edge. Today  
was a day that Hiei would probably never be able  
to forget, even if he wanted to and the worse  
hadn't happened yet. Maybe it was the meaning of  
the day in general, or maybe it was the things  
Hiei had heard in this room just moments ago that  
distracted him so badly that he didn't see Mukuro  
until she was siting on the bed beside him.  
  
"A dolgen for your thoughts?"  
  
Hiei didn't answer at first so that he could  
hide how startled he was. He pretended to ignore  
her knowing that Mukuro would see though his act,  
hoping that she would just give up and leave,  
knowing that she wouldn't. Hiei hadn't seen his  
'boss' for all of the three months since Kyuukai's  
birth. He had been to the Makai and slept in her  
city and even ran a few of her arraigns, but he  
had avoided her presence for this very reason.   
Right now he didn't need Mukuro trying to pick his  
mind apart with her uncanny ability to make people  
reveal what they wish to be hidden. When Mukuro  
didn't leave or speak again, Hiei stood and walked  
to the window intending to leave himself.  
  
"Well, since you don't seem that inclined to  
speak to me maybe you could tell be where  
Kitsuryuu is?"  
  
"Why would you want to speak to her?" Hiei  
asked trying not to show any of the fear in his  
voice that was in his eyes reflected in the  
window.  
  
"Kitsuryuu is a charming and novel young  
lady. As far as I know she seems unable to lie  
and further more she has nothing to lie about. It  
is refreshing to talk to someone that isn't  
trying to lie, or impress you... or fears you.   
Besides she will one day be a very powerful force  
in the Makai and the Reikai. It is always wise to  
know your peers and your potential enemies."  
  
Hiei's heart missed a beat, but he tried to  
hide it, "And you consider Kitsuryuu a threat."  
  
In the reflection of the glass Hiei saw  
Mukuro turn toward him. She looked at him sadly  
before shaking her head, "Right now she is not a  
threat, but the longer you deny her the truth the  
more dangerous she becomes."  
  
Hiei whirled around, his face open with  
shock.  
  
"Do not bother to deny it Hiei. I have seen  
her, talked with her. I don't know how you did  
it, and I really don't care to know, but you and  
Kurama have a child...," for a moment she smiled,  
"...children. Right now only Kitsuryuu is my  
concern."  
  
Mukuro stood from the bed and went to stand  
beside Hiei by the window. Without looking at him  
she continued, "The longer it takes for Kitsuryuu  
to find out the truth, and she will, the angrier  
she will become. She is youkai, Hiei, and anger  
fuels hate and resentment. Kitsuryuu is a fine  
young woman, but I will not hesitate to defend  
what is mine and neither will Yomi. If Kitsuryuu  
tries to strike at you through the power she will  
gain as being Koenma's daughter, and if she uses  
that power to effect me or my realm, I *will* put  
a stop to it."  
  
"Is that why you came? To threaten my  
daughter," Hiei asked not knowing if fear or anger  
fired his words.  
  
She didn't answer immediately and instead  
walked to the door of the room. Mukuro stood in  
the open entryway and gave him a small, sad smirk,  
"Maybe... or maybe I came to give you the excuse  
you have been so desperately looking for to tell  
Kitsuryuu the truth. Everyone has been telling  
you and Kurama why not to tell her. Now I'm  
giving you the best reason *to* tell her, but do  
not think, even for a moment, that I will not do  
as I said. I have worked hard for what I have and  
I will not let *anyone* jeopardize it." With that  
she was gone.  
  
Hiei stood at the window and grimaced at his  
reflection. His first thought was that he wasn't  
yet strong enough to defeat Mukuro. He had been  
working towards it ever since she first offered  
him to be her heir, but she still out classed him.   
He had a few quite deadly tricks up his sleeve  
that no one, not even Kurama, knew about, but they  
would only serve as a momentary distraction for  
Mukuro. So why not do as she said, his heart  
asked timidly.  
  
The glass in front of Hiei cracked under the  
pressure of his palm on its surface. The thin  
part in the once uniform plane ran though Hiei's  
reflection splitting the image into two halves,  
much like his soul. To tell or not to tell that  
is the question. An evil grin twitched at the  
surface of his lips at how much that sounded like  
Kuwabara to him. A true sign of insanity. This  
wasn't the first time Hiei had come to a split  
path in his life, with each way looking as  
hopeless as the other, but this time it wasn't  
just himself that he was deciding for, but  
Kitsuryuu as well.  
  
"You can stop taxing yourself over what to  
do, Hiei. It's already too late. It was too late  
the day you let her come here with Koenma-sama."  
  
Hiei whipped his head around to see  
Kitsuryuu's fire fox standing behind him, crimson  
flames licked around and in its fur without  
touching or scorching the carpet. Hiei reached  
for his sword at his hip in a unconscious gesture  
of defence and then realized how ridiculous it  
was. This fox had already shown how easily he  
could win a battle of pure strength against him.   
A tiny knot of worry formed in the bottom of  
Hiei's stomach.   
  
"What do you want here, kitsune?!" Hiei  
demanded with more bravo than he felt.  
  
The fox heaved a great sigh of defeat. Hiei  
watched, with what he refused to acknowledge as  
nervousness, as the fire in the animal's eyes  
seemed to dim and its shoulders slump as if the  
life was slowly draining out of him. Any thought  
that the fire fox would attack vanished.  
  
"What am I going to tell her, Hiei? All she  
ever wanted was your happiness. How I am going to  
be able to tell her that the worse has happened?   
How can I see her heart broken again?"  
  
The words were so soul wrenching that even  
Hiei felt his stomach sicken. With a silent  
trigger the fox fell to the floor and rolled to  
its side as if his invisible strings had been cut.   
The feeling of udder sadness and remorse was so  
thick in the room it seemed to color the air  
black. Hiei knew what a dying animal looked like.   
  
"Who are you?" Hiei asked, fearing he already  
knew the answer.  
  
The dying fire fox's whole body shook as he  
laid there on the floor. For a moment Hiei  
thought that the fox was in its death throws until  
he heard the mocking laughter.  
  
"We were so close. We could have broken the  
cycle, but because of our foolish mistakes, our  
damned pride, it begins again. Maybe Kyuukai will  
be the one to stop this curse that runs in our  
veins. Maybe he will be strong where we were  
weak." Hiei didn't know what to say as he watched  
the fox cry hot molten tears onto the carpet where  
he laid.   
  
"I could have stopped it if I had only taken  
your mother with me. If I had believed in her and  
her love for me, I could have prevented all of  
this, but I didn't. I left thinking that I had to  
prove myself, that I had to be better than I was.   
Do you know that she died crying my name, hoping  
that I would come for her in her last hour? Of  
course you wouldn't. Yukina would have never  
darkened your thoughts against me with the truth"  
  
"Why didn't you come?" The fox lifted it's  
head and for a fraction of second Hiei saw his own  
face looking back at him.   
  
"I was already dead. I died the day I left  
her. I went to Yukionna thinking to plead my  
heart to her, hoping that she would let your  
mother free. How foolish I was to think that  
Yukionna's heart of ice could be warmed. She  
killed me on the spot before I could even speak,  
and now that ice witch has her anger turned  
towards Kitsuryuu.  
  
"If I had left with your mother, Yukionna  
would have not known of your birth. If I had not  
of confronted her, you would have grown to be who  
you already are, but without the bitterness and  
strife. If I had done what my heart had pleaded,  
Kitsuryuu's existence would have been unknown  
until she was strong enough to handle her fate.   
Now Yukionna will make certain that Kitsuryuu  
suffers for being born."  
  
"Is Kitsuryuu is some kind of danger?" Hiei  
demanded.  
  
"She has been in danger since the moment of  
her birth, Hiei. She is destined for things that  
mortals could never understand, but it was our  
duty to guide her. Her future belongs to the  
gods, but her present belonged to us. Every  
choice *we* make has drastic effects on the course  
of Kitsuryuu's final end. She can either be our  
greatest hope, or our worst fears, and I dread to  
think what our folly had done to her. She is too  
young to do what they will ask of her. Her heart  
will be too hurt to control the things they will  
do to her. Anger is a deadly emotion when given  
to a child of infinite power."  
  
"What do you mean? What will happen to her?   
Who will do this to her? Damn it! Answer me!"   
Hiei growled as he bent to the fox's fading form.  
  
There was no answer as the fox's fire began  
to dim to cold, black dust. The creature's  
shallow breathing was slowing to a stop, rattling  
in its chest. The once magnificent power that had  
once flowed from the creature was barely a trickle  
as the flames slowly died.   
  
"Now it is up to you, my master. My borrowed  
time is gone and I have failed a second time as  
you said I would. I pray Enma-sama that you know  
what you are doing."  
  
The fox turned to ash and crumbled into a  
pile of unanswered questions. Hiei didn't know  
what was going on, or what this being that he knew  
was his dead father's soul meant by the words that  
he had said, but one way or another he was going  
to find the answers.  
  
=======  
end ch 22 


End file.
